'^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *g 


Presented    by__cy<2,T'^ XcsX  '^^TWlS  5  OVaVg.  X"". 

BR  12 1  ":  W5  6^X90^5  ^ 

Whallon,  Edward  Payson,  184 
-1939. 

The  foursquare  Christian 


THE 

Foursquare  Christian 


OR 


The  Fourfold  Doctrine  of  the  First 
and  Great  Commandment. 


BY 


Rev.  E.  p.  WHALLON,  Ph.  D.,  D.D. 


"Thou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength," — 
Mark  xii;  30. 


MONFORT   &  COMPANY 

CINCINNATI 

1905 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress, 
in  the  year  1905, 

By  MONFORT  &  Co., 

in  the  ofi&ce  of  the  I^ibrarian  of  Congress 
at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 

The  Christian  life  is  the  best  and  happiest 
that  can  be  lived  on  earth.  It  is  the  life 
to  which  God  calls  us.  It  is  that  which 
Christ  makes  possible  to  us  by  his  death, 
and  into  which  the  Holy  Spirit  brings  us,  if 
we  accept  the  divine  grace  offered  us  in  the 
Gospel.  The  Christian  accepts  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  He  finds  spiritual  and 
eternal  life  through  trusting  in  Jesus. 
He  follows  the  example  set  by  Jesus, 
and  finds  this  the  one  sure  and  safe 
path  through  life.  The  Christian  is 
trustful  and  tranquil;  loving  and  loyal; 
thoughtful  and  thankful;  helpful  and  hope- 
ful. He  makes  the  lucst  of  this  world  by 
trying  to  do  the  wil  of  God  as  long  as 
he  lives  here.  He  makes  the  most  of  the 
next  world  by  accepting  from  God's  hand 
the  free  gift  of  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Chribt  the  Lord.  He  has  promise  of  the 
life  that  now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come.  Of  all  possible  ways  of  living,  this 
is  highest,  holiest,  happiest  and  best.  This 
life  is  to  be  not  one-sided,  but  complete, 
symmetrical,  developed  in  each  depart- 
ment, foursquare  in  experience,  worship, 
belief  and  service. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
The  Christian  Life 9 

The  Whole  Life  foe  God 14 


CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE. 

The  Spieit  and  the  Bride 19 

God's  Call  to  Salvation 23 

What  Is  Conversion? 27 

The  Beginning  of  Life 31 

What  Must  I  Do  to  Be  Saved? 35 

What  Must  I  Do  to  Be  Lost? 39 

Repentance  Unto  Life 44 

Growing  in  Grace 48 

"Always  Abounding  " 52 

The  Conversion  of  Children 56 

The  Imitation  of  Christ 61 

(5) 


Table  of  Contents. 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP. 

Page 
Confessing  Christ 67 

Church   Attendance 71 

Uniting  With  the  Church 75 

Baptism   79 

Buried   in   Baptism 83 

Child  Church  Membership 87 

The  Lord's  Supper 91 

Prayer    95 

Family  Worship 99 

The  Use  of  the  Bible 103 

Sabbath  Observance 107 

Public    Worship 113 

The  Spirit  of  Worship 117 

CHRISTIAN  FAITH. 

Authority  in  Religion 123 

Our   Infallible   Guide 127 

What  is  God? 131 

Christ   the  Eternal  Son 135 


Table  of  Contents.  ■? 

Page 
Sin  and  the  Atonement 139 

The  Resuerection  of  Christ 143 

Christ    Exalted 147 

The  Holy  Spirit 151 

The  Church 155 

Faith  and  Salvation 159 

Perseverance    163 

Immortality  and  Heaven 167 

CHRISTIAN  SERVICE. 

Christian    Morality 173 

Glorifying  God 177 

Faith  and  Practice 182 

Easy  to  Do  Right 186 

A  Prosperous  Soul 191 

Wings  and  Hands 196 

Watchmen  on  the  Tom^ers 202 

The  Lord's  Money 206 

Missions 211 

Temperance 216 


8  Table  of  Contents. 

Page 
Sabbath-school  Woek 221 

Young    People 225 

Men's  Leagued 230 

Woman  and  Hee  Woek 233 

What  Kind  of  a  Chubch? 238 

Calls  to  the  Ministey 242 

CONCLUSION. 

Peesonal  Religion 249 

Do  We  Wish  A  Revival? 253 


THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

If  a  thoughtful  and  devout  student  of 
God's  Word  were  asked  what  is  necessary 
in  order  to  become  a  Christian,  he  would 
promptly  answer  that  one  must  have  a  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  saving  grace  of 
God,  that  he  must  be  born  again  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  he  must  have  a  sincere 
faith  in  and  love  for  Jesus  Christ.  This 
would  be  Scriptural  and  forceful,  putting 
first  things  first  and  emphasizing  the  very 
truths  taught  to  us  by  Christ  in  the  Gos- 
pels, This  lays  the  stress  where  we  are 
t£ught  in  the  Word  of  God  to  lay  it. 
Whatever  one  is  or  is  rot,  whatever  he  has 
or  has  not,  whatever  he  does  or  does  not, 
he  is  not  a  Christian  unless  he  haa  been 
converted  and  has  personally  entered  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Except  he  be  thus  born 
again,  or  born  from  on  high,  so  that  he 
has  the  personal  experience  of  a  renewed 
and  loving  heart,  ho  is,  according  to 
Christ's  own  teachings,  outside  the  bound- 
ary lines  of  salvation.  Without  doubt  h« 
who  would  be  a  Christian  must  love  and 
trust  Christ  as  his  own  Savior,  The  Chris- 
tian is  one  who  loves  God  with  his  heart. 
(2)  (9) 


10  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  the  life  of  the 
Christian.  He  will  worship  God  devoutly. 
He  will  use  the  ordained  means  of  grace 
through  which  the  divine  life  and  blessing 
may  be  communicated  to  his  soul.  He  will 
come  close  to  God,  day  by  day,  coming  into 
personal  contact  with  him  in  prayer.  He 
will  read  God's  Word  that  he  may  learn 
his  will.  He  will  commune  with  God  that 
his  Spirit  may  guide  him  into  the  ways  of 
ppiritual  life.  He  will  attend  God's  house 
and  listen  reverently  to  the  preaching  of 
the  truth  and  will  engage  in  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  public  worship.  He  will  confess 
Christ  publicly,  will  receive  baptism,  and 
will  come  humbly  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  He 
will  delight  in  all  the  exercises,  public  and 
private,  in  which  God  may  be  worshiped. 
His  life  will  be  full  of  expressed  reverence 
and  he  will  be  known  as  a  worshiper  of 
God.  It  is  possible  for  one  to  have  a  zeal 
for  the  externals  of  religion  without  the 
inner  grace  of  heart  and  life  which  they 
are  means  to  express  and  to  help.  In  such 
a  case  one  is  a  formalist  instead  of  a 
Christian.  But  he  who  is  a  true  child  of 
God  will  have  the  real  root  of  the  matter 
in  him.  He  loves  and  believes  in  Christ, 
and  loves  and  believes  the  truth,  and  he 
will    love    the  Church  and  all    that    the 


The  Christian  Life.  11 

Church  stands  for,  and  will  be  known  as 
an  openly  avowed  follov/er  of  Christ,  ^ith 
his  whole  soul,  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  he 
will  worship.  The  Christian  is  one  who 
loves  God  with  his  soul. 

But  there  13  a  further  side  to  the  life  of 
the  Christian.  He  will  receive  the  truth 
He  will  accept  the  teachings  of  the  divine 
Word  of  God.  He  will  believe  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel.  He  will  know  the 
truth,  and  the  truth  will  make  him  free. 
He  will  worship  God  in  truth  as  well  as  in 
spirit.  He  will  take  God's  truth  into  his 
eoul,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  will  use  it  for  his 
sanctification.  The  Christian  will  have  a 
reverent  regard  for  sound  doctrine.  He  will 
hold  the  form  of  sound  words.  He  will  take 
<  rod's  Word  as  the  inspired  guide  of  his 
life.  He  will  be  jealous  lor  the  truth  of 
God  and  will  not  think  that  error  is  as 
safe  and  as  good  as  truth.  H«;  will  not  say 
that  it  is  immaterial  what  one  believes.  He 
will  believe  what  God  has  revealed,  and  will 
not  believe  or  indorse  anything  that  con- 
tradicts it.  The  Christian  will  be  an  evan- 
gelical believer.  He  will  stand  for  sound 
doctrine.  If  he  were  this  alone,  he  might 
be  a  mere  dogmatist.  It  is  possible  for 
one  to  have  a  zeal  for  words  and  dogmas 
without  a  vital  interest  in  Christ.    In  such 


12  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

a  case  theology  may  be  made  loveless.  But 
the  Christian  loves  and  believes  in  Christ, 
and  loves  and  believes  the  truth.  The 
Christian  is  one  who  loves  God  -with  his 
mind. 

But  there  is  still  another  side  to  the  life 
of  the  Christian,  for  his  life,  like  the  city 
John  saw  in  his  vision,  lieth  four-square. 
He  will  be  a  good  and  upright  and  moral 
man  in  his  life.  He  will  obey  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  He  will  seek  the  help 
ot"  the  Holy  Spirit  day  by  day  to  live  a  con- 
sistent life.  He  will  examine  himself  so 
that  he  may  not  bring  reproach  on  the 
cause  of  Christ,  or  give  enemies  occasion 
to  blaspheme.  He  will  obey  Christ  and 
will  serve  him.  He  will  be  good.  He  will 
be  moral.  He  will  give.  He  will  be  tem- 
perate and  pure  and  truthful  and  honest. 
He  will  let  his  light  shine.  He  will  not 
trust  in  his  own  morality,  however.  He 
will  not  be  satisiied  with  his  own  right- 
eousness. His  life,  however,  will  be  act- 
ually good  and  upright.  If  he  were  this 
alone,  he  might  be  a  mere  moralist.  But 
he  is  one  who  loves  and  believes  in  Christ 
as  his  own  Savior  and  his  only  hope,  who 
loves  and  worships  with  God's  people,  who 
loves  and  believes  the  truth,  and  who  loves 
to  do  God's  will.    His  life  is  one  of  prac- 


The  Christian  Life.  13 

tical  obedience  and  service.    The  Christian 
is  one  who  loves  God  with  his  strength. 

Here  are  the  four  sides  of  Christian  life 
as  laid  down  in  God'«  Word.  They  are  Per- 
sonal Experience,  Reverent  Worship,  Evan- 
gelical Faith  and  Obedient  Service.  As 
laid  down  by  Moses,  and  as  repeated  by 
Christ,  these  four  elements  are  to  be  found 
in  every  Christian  life.  We  are  to  love 
the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart,  with 
all  our  soul,  with  all  our  mind,  and  with 
all  our  strength.  We  are  to  remember  the 
order  of  these  injunctions,  and  we  are  to 
put  first  things   first. 


THE    WHOLE    LIFE    FOR    GOD. 

No  one  should  be  satisfied  with  a  one- 
sided or  unsymmetrical  life.  In  every  part 
of  tlie  being  we  should  seek  to  glorify  God, 
by  being  what  God  would  have  us  be.  He 
who  emphasizes  some  one  side  or  depart- 
ment, leaving  the  olhers  uncared  for  or 
undeveloped,  is  very  imperfect  and  unsat- 
isfactory. 

One  can  not  divide  himself  into  parts 
after  all.  Each  person  is  one  indivisible 
being.  We  may  speak  of  ourselves  con- 
sisting of  body  and  soul;  but,  as  soon  as 
these  are  separated  our  earthly  existence 
ceases.  Body,  soul  and  spirit  make  the  one 
being,  and  we  are  to  glorify  God  in  every 
part  of  this  unified  being,  and  with  the 
apostle  are  to  pray  that  our  "whole  spirit 
end  soul  and  body  be  preserved  blameless 
vnto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  psychologist  may,  in  his  scientific 
analysis,  consider  man  mentally  as  con- 
sisting of  intellect,  affections  and  will. 
From  a  scientific  standpoint  this  may  be 
permissible;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  and  of 
life  no  one  may  be  so  divided.  The  man 
(14) 


The  Whole  Life  for  God.  15 

thinks,  loves  and  wills.  Every  intellectual 
act  is  some  person  thinking.  Every  out- 
going of  tlie  affections  is  some  person  ex- 
ercising love  or  hate,  or  some  other  feel- 
ini?.  Every  act  of  the  will  is  some  person 
framing  a  purpose.  Sin  never  existed  in 
the  abstract,  but  has  always  been  the  evil 
act  or  life  of  some  sinful  individual. 
Righteousness  never  was  found  in  the  ab- 
stract, but  always  in  the  life  or  action  of 
some  righteous  person.  So  the  individual 
n'ay  think  and  feel  and  will,  but,  actually, 
can  not  be  analyzed  into  intellect,  affec- 
tions and  will. 

In  seeking  to  live  thp  good  life  we  must 
beware  that  we  do  not  make  t*:e  vital  mis- 
take of  thinking  to  please  God  by  being 
good  in  some  spot,  while  the  rest  of  our 
being  is  wrong  and  contrary  to  his  wish. 
God  Las  no  use  for  a  divided  life.  The  real 
mother  before  King  Solomon  cried  out 
against  the  sword  that  would  divide  her 
tabe,  for  she  knew  it  meant  death.  We 
can  not  serve  God  aid  Mammon.  We  can 
not  cherish  sin  in  any  part  of  our  being, 
and  insist  that  the  other  parts  are  all  right 
and  that  God  should  be  satisfied.  Unless 
we  welcome  and  cherish  the  divine  law  of 
life  and  love  in  every  part  of  our  being, 
we  refuse  it  for  a  part,  and  in  so  doing  we 


16  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

ctoose  disease  and  death  for  a  part  of  oui' 
life.  In  doing  this  we  choose  disease  and 
death  for  our  whole  life,  for  we  have  vol- 
untarily banished  God  and  his  divine  life 
from  having  full  welcome  and  control. 

One  man  may  say  that  he  will  live  right, 
tut  that  he  has  no  use  for  conversion,  the 
church  or  God's  service.  No  one  can  live 
rit^ht  v/ho  chooses  to  be  in  such  overt 
lebellion  against  God. 

Another  may  satisfy  himself  with  an 
emotional  enjoyment  of  what  he  calls  re- 
ligion, and  yet  may  have  so  little  regard 
for  tjie  commandmencs  of  God  as  to  break 
them  without  compunction  of  conscience, 
reminding  us  of  Mr.  Moody's  words  that 
"if  a  man  will  not  live  as  he  ought,  the 
less  he  says  about  Jesus  the  better." 

Another  one  may  pride  himself  on  his 
absolutely  orthodox  creed,  and  yet  by  an 
I' n lovely  and  cruel  and  persecuting  life  may 
bring  religion  into  the  disrepute  which  it 
acquired  in  the  Middle  Age?,  so  that  we 
are  led  to  think  of  the  inquisitor  as  the 
most  diabolical  of  mtn. 

Another  may  claim  to  be  filled  with  such 
an  exalted  reverence  and  love  and  devotion 
and  joy  in  religious  life  tbat  he  cares 
not  for  sober  creed  cr  the  eld   doctrines, 


The  Whole  Life  for  God.  17 

and  inveighs  against  the  common  and  es- 
tablished truths  of  Christian  doctrine.  No 
t-erscnal  experience  which  any  one  claims 
to  possess  can  give  him  a  right  to  reject 
the  truths  given  by  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  Word  of  God. 

The  whole  life  is  to  be  for  God.  He 
\\ho  would  be  a  child  of  God  must  seek 
and  accept  the  personal  experience  of  the 
new  birth,  must  worship  God  in  the  ordi- 
nances which  he  has  himself  established, 
must  believe  the  truths  revealed  to  us 
from  on  high,  and  must  live  a  life  in 
obedience  to  the  divine  commandments. 
The  whole  life  must  be  for  God.  The 
whole  being  must  be  consecrated  to,  must 
be  indwelt  by,  and  must  be  lovingly  obe- 
dient to  God. 


CHRISTIAN  BXPBRIBNCB. 


"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart." — Mark  xii.  jo. 
*    *    * 

''With  the  heart  man  helieveth  unto 
righteousness." — Romans  x.  lo. 


"&' 


''Ye  must  he  horn  again." — John  Hi.  y. 

*       w       * 

"Grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus 
Christ." — 2  Peter  Hi.  i8. 


THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  BRIDE. 

God  is  calling  men  and  women  to  a  saved 
life.  This  call  comes  externally  and  inter- 
nally. Both  of  these  calls  are  important 
and  essential.  The  voice  of  God  may  reach 
the  heart,  and  a  longing  and  readiness  for 
help  and  guidance  may  be  felt  within;  but 
there  needs  to  be  the  voice  from  without 
by  which  the  truth  may  be  taught  and  the 
way  be  made  plain. 

God  called  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  when 
he  put  in  his  heart  a  readiness  to  read  the 
words  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  and  made  him 
willing  to  know  more  about  Christ  and  the 
way  of  salvation.  But  he  might  have  gone 
on  in  darkness  and  ignorance  if  Philip  had 
not  been  sent  to  hira  to  make  clear  and 
plain  to  him  the  way  to  find  Christ.  When 
the  instructions  and  invitations  of  the 
evangelist  came  to  him,  he  received  his 
second,  or  external  call.  In  this  form  the 
Bride,  or  the  Church,  with  its  holy  ordi- 
nances, said  "Come"  to  him,  and  the  eunuch 
responded  to  both  calls  and  gave  himself  to 
God  in  conversion  and  in  baptism.  No 
wonder  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 
(19) 


20  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

God  is  calling  every  one  to-day  In  our 
Cliristian  land  in  one  or  the  other,  or  in 
both  of  these  ways.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
Church  to  see  that  the  call  is  unmistakably 
clear  and  plain,  so  that  each  person  may  be 
thrown  upon  bis  personal  responsibility 
to  heed  and  to  obey  the  call  that  comes  to 
the  heart.  We  must  not  make  mistakes 
here. 

As  Christian  people,  members  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  we  should  make  sure 
that,  in  some  way,  at  least  once,  plainly 
and  distinctly,  the  external  call  should  be 
made  to  each  individual  soul  in  the  whole 
community  where  we  live.  We  take  it  for 
granted  that  people  know  it  to  be  their 
duty  to  be  Christians.  They  live  in  a  land 
of  Bibles  and  churches.  The  church-bella 
ring.  Sabbath  services  are  regularly  held. 
The  Gospel  is  preached.  It  would  seem 
that  none  can  fail  to  know  the  claims  of 
God  and  the  offers  of  life  through  Jesus 
Christ.  But  the  human  heart  is  very  de- 
ceitful, and  the  suggestions  of  Satan  are 
■very  plausible.  Each  person  should  be  ap- 
proached personally  and  positively  with 
the  earnest  invitation  and  demand,  in  ihe 
name  of  Christ,  that  sin  be  repented  of, 
and  Christ  accepted  and  confessed  as  Sav- 


The  Spirit  and  the  Bride.  21 

ior.  We  should  not  be  satisfied,  as  minis- 
ters or  private  Christians,  until  we  are 
absolutely  sure  that  every  person  in  our 
community  has  been  thus  approached. 

Wo  must  be  certain,  too,  that  the  Gospel, 
and  not  something  else,  is  preached.  It 
will  not  do  to  confine  ourselves  to  Chris- 
tion  etliic?5,  or  Christian  doctrine,  or  even 
that  which  is  edifying  to  Christian  people. 
There  must  be  the  frequent  call  to  the  un- 
converted in  the  sermons  preached  on  the 
Sabbath  in  our  sanctuaries.  In  fact,  there 
is  a  general  agreement  among  the  best 
preachers  and  teachers  that  in  every  ser- 
mon there  should  be  enough,  under  God,  to 
save  the  soul  of  any  unconverted  one  who 
may  be  present  and  may  give  heed  to  the 
Word  as  preached.  Thus,  in  every  public 
service,  the  Bride  of  Christ  must  be  always 
ready  and  always  sure  to  give  the  invita- 
tion to  eternal  life. 

But  the  efficient  influence  is  that  internal 
call  that  corf.es  from  God's  Holy  Spirit  to 
the  heart.  Without  this  the  other  is  un- 
aA'ailing.  There  can  be  no  real  revival 
that  is  simply  human-made.  The  conver- 
sions that  are  effected  by  mere  human  in- 
fluences lack  the  divine  element  which 
alone  is  a>/ailing  to  salvation.     There  are 


22  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

spurious  conversions,  but  they  are  all  of 
them  those  in  which  God's  Spirit  had  no 
share.  We  continually  are  led  to  realize 
our  need  of  him  for  all  that  is  real  and 
abiding  in  spiritual  life.  Without  him  we 
can  do  nothing.  The  Church's  continual 
dependence  must  be  on  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  invitation  of  the  Bride  must  be  given 
continually,  lovingly  and  earnestly;  but 
without  the  call  of  the  Spirit  her  words 
will  be  unavailing.  But  let  the  Church  be 
most  careful  that  wherever  the  voice  of 
God  is  heard  in  any  human  heart,  her  own 
voice  shall  follow  up  the  invitation  with 
loving  and  earnest  insistence. 


GOD'S  CALL  TO  SALVATION. 

The  call  of  God  to  the  saved  life  is  so 
plain  that  it  may  be  understood  and  obeyed 
by  the  young,  the  simple  and  the  unlearned 
as  well  as  by  those  who  are  experienced 
and  cultured.  The  child  may  hear  and 
heed  it  as  readily  as  those  of  mature  life. 
The  peasant  may  understand  and  accept  it 
as  easily  as  the  greatest  philosopher  and 
sage. 

Religion,  as  a  matter  of  supreme  neces- 
sity to  all,  is  not  beyond  the  ordinary  com- 
prehension and  reach.  The  loving  and 
obedient  heart  is  the  prime  qualification  for 
those  who  would  have  saving  relations  with 
God.  God  makes  the  Gospel  offer  In  ab- 
solute sincerity,  and  the  conditions  of  ac- 
ceptance of  it  are  not  placed  beyond  the 
I  each  of  any  to  whom  it  is  offered.  By 
putting  it  thus  within  the  reach  of  all,  does 
God  reveal  his  appreciation  of  our  weak- 
ness, his  love,  and  his  deep  sincerity.  The 
conditions  of  salvation  are  such  that  they 
can  be  accepted  by  even  the  smallest,  the 
youngest,  and  the  weakest  of  those  whom 
he  calls. 
(23) 


24  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

When  God  says:  "My  son,  give  me  ihy 
heart,"  he  doea  not  make  a  demand  for  ma- 
turity of  judgment,  ripeness  of  culture, 
philosophical  acumen,  or  fully  developed 
powers  of  thought.  He  asks  for  the  love 
of  the  heart,  and  this  the  little  child  can 
yield,  and  oftentimes  is  more  ready  and 
apt  to  yield  than  many  who  are  greatly  its 
superiors  in  knowledge  and  wisdom.  Yet, 
possessing  a  loving  heart,  it  may  have  the 
best  knowledge,  which  is  a  knowledge  of 
God  and  at  least  the  beginning  of  wisdom, 
which  is  the  fear  of  ihe  Lord.  There  are 
some  who  think,  however,  that  the  child 
can  not  be  a  Christian.  They  imagine  that 
one  must  be  mature  in  life  in  order  to  be 
capable  of  iiiaking  an  intelligent  choice  of 
religious  life,  when,  in  realitj'^,  none  are  so 
far  away  from  a  wise  choice  as  those  who 
have  come  to  a  fully  developed  and  mature 
life  without  having  found  a  place  for  Christ 
in  their  hearts  up  to  that  time.  God's  con- 
dition is  the  loving  heart  which  believes 
and  welcomes  and  loves  and  obeys,  and  to 
the  possession  of  this,  wealth,  culture  and 
advanced  age  are,  too  often,  great  and  in- 
surmountable obstacles. 

Religion  is  very  simple,  and  it  must  needs 
be  so,  in  order  to  be  within  the  grasp  of 
all   who  need   it.     In  this  respect  we  are 


Ood's  Gall  to  Salvation.  25 

reminded  of  the  vital,  physical  functions 
which  are  partaken  of  by  all  classes  and 
ages  and  conditions,  and  for  which  God 
gives  natural  capacity  and  aptitude  to  the 
3'oung  just  as  certainly  as  to  the  mature. 
Thus,  !3reathing,  digestion,  assimilation, 
blood-circulation,  sight,  hearing,  feeling  and 
motion  are  attributes  of  childhood  just  as 
certainly  as  of  manhood,  and  of  the  ignor- 
ant as  truly  as  of  the  learned.  So,  under 
the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit,  the  child  or 
the  unlearned  is  as  thoroughly  capable  of 
all  that  is  necessary  in  order  to  be  saved 
as  is  the  most  mature  philosopher. 

Here  is  a  great  ocean  steamer,  almost 
ready  for  its  trip  across  the  Atlantic.  With- 
out its  aid  the  great  General  can  no  more 
cross  the  ocean  than  can  the  private  soldier; 
the  Admiral  than  the  common  sailor;  the 
college  President  than  the  preparatory  stu- 
dent; the  trained  athlete  than  the  little 
child.  The  steamer  makes  the  passage 
possible,  and  without  it  all  are  equally 
helpless.  All  that  is  necessary  for  any  one 
is  that  he  secure  a  ticket,  and  go  aboard. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  he  understand  all 
the  art  of  ship-construction,  the  intricacies 
of  navigation  or  the  science  of  the  appli- 
cation of  steam.  So,  in  order  to  secure  all 
(3) 


26  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

the  benefits  of  Christ's  redemption,  it  is 
not  necessary  that  one  shall  understand 
the  whole  problem  of  the  mystery  of  evil, 
the  exact  theory  of  the  atonement,  and  the 
best  form  for  the  statement  of  every  truth 
of  theology.  All  that  is  necessary  for  sal- 
vation is  that  the  heart  shall  be  given  to 
God  in  simple  trust  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  the  divine  grace. shall  be  lovingly  ac- 
cepted. 

When  God's  Word  tells  us  that  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned, we  are  to  depend  upon  it  that  this 
is  exactly  and  literally  true.  Many  people 
do  not  comprehend  its  truth  in  this  mat- 
ter. Many  believe  that  spiritual  things  are 
intellectually  discerned,  but  this  is  no  more 
true  than  it  is  that  music  can  be  seen. 
There  must  be  the  simple  response  of  a 
loving  and  obedient  heart  to  the  loving  call 
of  the  Heavenly  Father.  This  is  within 
the  possibilities  of  every  human  heart  that 
if.  ready  to  humble  itself  and  open  the  door 
for  the  incoming  of  the  Savior.  Each  hu- 
man soul  is  large  enough  to  be  a  temple  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  soul  that  lovingly  re- 
sponds to  the  knock  of  Jesus  at  its  door, 
and  bids  him  enter,  is  the  one  whose  faith 
has  saved  it,  and  who  has  come  into  the 
possession  of  eternal  peace  and  eternal  life. 


WHAT  IS  CONVERSION? 

If  one  does  not  love  God,  he  is  an  un- 
saved sinner,  and  lie  will  remain  unsaved 
until  there  comes  such  a  change  in  him 
that  he  does  love  God.  This  change  is 
conversion,  and,  in  order  to  bring  it  about, 
God  has  given  us  his  Son  and  his  Spirit, 
his  Word  of  Truth,  his  Providence,  his 
Church  and  all  the  means  of  Grace  which 
wc  enjoy. 

God  is  unwilling  that  we  should  live  on 
in  a  life  which  is  devoid  of  love  for  him. 
He  seeks  to  win  us  to  himself.  In  his  holy 
Word  he  tells  us  about  himself.  In  Christ 
he  personally  reveals  himself  to  us.  In 
his  Holy  Spirit  he  pleads  with  us.  In  the 
Church  his  truth  is  preached  and  his  in- 
vitations are  repeated  and  urged  upon  our 
attention.  In  all  the  dispensations  of  his 
Providence  and  Grace  he  comes  to  us  seek- 
ing to  influence  our  lives  and  win  us  to 
his  love. 

Ihose  who  yield  to  his  gracious  in- 
fluences and  come  to  love  him,  know  what 
it  means  to  be  converted.  They  have  turned 
(27) 


28  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

from  the  old  life.  They  love  God.  A 
change  has  come  to  them,  the  most  sig- 
nificant and  important  that  can  come  to 
htiman  hearts.  However  bad  they  were,  or 
however  good  they  were  before,  they  did 
not  love  God.  They  were  strangers  to 
grace.    They  were  among  the  unsaved. 

Some  persons  know  when  they  were  con- 
verted. They  can  tell  the  very  moment 
and  the  very  place.  They  Know  what  pas- 
sage of  Scripture,  what  sermon  or  what 
providential  dealing  of  God  was  used  for 
their  conversion.  They  remember  how 
they  were  opposed  to  Christ  before  this,  and 
the  very  attitude  they  Look  against  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel  or  the  work  of  the 
Church.  But  now  this  Is  all  in  the  past. 
They  now  adore  and  trust  in  the  Savior, 
Vkhom  they  once  rejected.  They  now  love 
to  pray  and  to  read  God's  Word,  and  they 
are  grateful  for  even  a  humble  place  in 
the  Church.  A  great  change  has  come  to 
them.  They  can  say  with  the  blind  man 
whom  Christ  restored  to  his  sight:  "One 
thing  I  know,  that,  whereas  I  was  blind, 
now  I  see."  They  are  conscious  that  a 
new  experience  has  come  to  them,  and  that 
this  experience  is  one  in  which  they  love 
God.     It  is  a  very  blessed  joy  which  fills 


What  is  Conversion?  29 

the  heart  that  knows  of  such  a  personal 
transformation. 

But  there  are  other  converted  persons, 
who  do  not  know  the  time  and  the  place 
when  the  change  in  their  lives  occurred. 
It  has  occurred,  however,  without  doubt. 
They  love  God  most  sincerely.  They  live 
obediently  and  lovingly  every  day  of  their 
lives.  They  are  reverent  and  trustful.  It 
is  a  joy  to  them  to  do  God's  will,  and  they 
worship  him  and  commune  with  him  and 
love  his  house  and  his  ways.  These  per- 
sons are  undoubtedly  converted,  for  they 
have  all  the  marks  of  conversion  upon 
them.  These  are  not  the  characteristics  of 
the  unsaved.  Those  who  are  living  in  a 
mere  state  of  nature,  unsaved  and  uncon- 
verted, do  not  love  God.  When  one  has 
come  to  love  God,  wherever,  whenever  or 
however  it  may  have  been,  he  has  expe- 
rienced all  that  is  meant  by  conversion. 

There  are  some  sensitive  persons  who 
are  anxious  about  their  soul's  salvation, 
who  say  that  they  want  to  be  Christians 
and  hope  to  be,  if  only  God  will  grant 
them  his  saving  grace,  who  really  love  him 
and  show  that  they  do.  These  persons 
would  gain  great  comfort  from  a  realiza- 
tion of  the  fact  that  God's  love  is  in  the 


30  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

heart  of  only  God's  saved  eliildren.  Lov- 
ing him  proves  that  they  have  savingly  ac- 
cepted of  Jesus  as  their  Savior,  and  that 
God  for  Christ's  sake  has  pardoned  their 
sins  and  accepted  them  as  his  children. 
No  matter  though  they  commenced  to  love 
him  so  early  in  life  that  they  do  not  re- 
member when  it  was,  the  present  fact  is 
that  they  are  God's  loving,  forgiven  and 
converted  children. 

To  all  who  have  not  turned  to  God  from 
their  sins,  in  repentance  and  living  faith, 
the  loud  and  clear  demand  is  made  from 
on  high  that  they  shall  cease  their  oppo- 
sition or  their  indifference  and  yield  to  his 
divine  and  saving  grace.  It  is  a  terrible 
thing  to  slight  the  love  of  God,  and  to  live 
on  without  faith  and  love  in  the  heart. 
This  unbelief  is  the  worst  and  most  dan- 
gerous sin  in  the  world.  It  is  the  sum 
and  substance  of  all  sins.  It  is  the  un- 
willingness to  obey,  love,  and  trust  God. 
It  is  rejection  of  him.  From  this  every 
soul  should  turn  at  once  and  forever. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  LIFE. 

Christian  life  must  have  a  beginning. 
By  nature  we  are  all  sinners,  alienated 
from  the  life  of  God  and  guilty  before  his 
holy  law.  If  we  come  into  the  new,  saved 
life,  there  must  be  a  change  from  what 
we  are  by  nature.  This  change  is  of  so 
marked  nature  that  it  is  called  by  the 
striking  name  of  the  new  birth.  This 
name  is  most  appropriate  because  the 
change  is  vital.     It  is  of  the  very  life. 

There  Is  something  mysterious  about  the 
new  birth.  It  Is  accomplished  by  the  in- 
fluence and  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
How  it  is  brought  about  is  not  readily 
understood.  But  we  see  its  effects  and  we 
know  they  are  real.  Christ  Illustrated  It 
by  the  wind.  No  one  can  see  the  wind, 
but  we  can  see  the  effects  of  the  wind,  and 
some  very  strong  and  substantial  bodies 
go  down  before  it.  So  It  Is  with  human 
souls  when  God's  Spirit  takes  hold  upon 
them. 

The  conversion  of  many  a  man  has  been 
a  marvelous  manifestation  of  the  power 
of  God.  Many  a  soul  can  say:  "I'm  a 
(31) 


32  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

miracle  of  grace."  Saul  of  Tarsus  is  a 
persecutor  one  moment,  full  of  the  deep, 
settled  conviction  that  he  ought  to  do 
many  things  contrary  to  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, and  the  next  moment  he  is  changed 
In  mind  and  heart,  crying  out:  "Lord, 
what  will  thou  have  me  to  do."  This  one 
converpion  is  an  unanswerable  argument 
in  favor  of  Christianity  as  a  supernatural 
and  divine  religion.  But  every  conversion, 
whether  so  striking  as  this  or  not,  is  a 
coming  of  God  into  the  human  soul  in 
such  a  way  as  to  convince  the  judgment, 
purify  the  affections  and  change  the  life. 
Such  a  transformation  as  this  may  well 
be  called  by  the  name  of  the  new  birth. 
Christ  himself  so  describes  it, 

Here  is  a  man  who  has  been  an  unbe- 
liever. He  has  set  himself  against  the 
truth  and  the  person  of  Christ.  He  reads 
the  Bible  only  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
objections  to  it.  He  reads  religious  books 
and  papers,  and  listens  to  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  only  in  an  antagonistic  frame 
of  mind.  His  only  religious  conversation 
is  in  the  form  of  argument  against  the 
gospel.  He  amasses  a  library  of  infidel 
books  and  pamphlets.  But  God's  Spirit 
reaches  him,   it  may   be   in   some  time  of 


The  Beginning  of  Life.  33 

bereavement  when  his  heart  is  broken, 
and  he  accepts  the  salvation  and  grace  and 
eomfort  of  Christ  He  bums  his  infidel 
library  and  his  life  is  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God. 

Here  is  a  man  who  has  lived  wickedly. 
He  has  trodden  God's  commandments 
under  foot  and  has  made  himself  a  wreck 
and  a  curse.  He  has  brought  shame  to 
himself  and  to  his  friends.  He  has  been 
evil  and  that  continually.  He  has  become 
unattractive  and  hateful,  and  the  promise 
and  prospects  of  life  have  become  dark- 
ened. He  is  a  moral  leper.  He  is  dead 
to  purity.  Can  such  a  one  as  this  be 
saved?  Yes,  Christ  can  save  even  to  the 
uttermost.  God's  Spirit  finds  him.  He 
turns  in  penitence  and  faith  for  cleansing 
to  the  fountain  that  was  opened  for  sin 
and  uncleanness,  and  he  is  made  pure  and 
clean  as  a  child  of  God.  Hereafter  he 
walks  in  the  way  of  life  close  to  the  side 
of  Christ  and  is  kept  by  him,  through 
faith,  unto  everlasting  life. 

Here  is  a  man  who  feels  no  need  of 
Christ  and  who  does  not  seek  him.  He 
iLi  moral  and  has  many  excellencies  of  life 
and  character.  He  is  kind  in  his  home, 
upright  and  honorable  in  business,  and 
prides   hin^self   on   his   cleanness   of   life. 


34  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

But  he  is  a  stranger  to  God,  does  not 
know  what  it  is  to  pray,  is  without  per- 
sonal faith,  and  is  utterly  lacking  in  spirit- 
ual life.  But  God's  Spirit  reaches  him. 
He  comes  to  see  himself  a  sinner,  without 
God  and  without  hope.  He  accepts  Christ 
and  enters  upon  a  life  that  is  beautiful  in 
its  humble  service  rendered  to  the  Savior. 
Such  cases  as  these  are  continually  oc- 
eurring.  Men  and  women  who  are  un- 
saved are  reached  and  led  to  yield  their 
hearts  and  lives  to  God.  Once  without 
love,  they  came  to  be  loving-hearted  and 
entered  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  sim- 
ple spirit  of  a  little  child.  Christian  life 
had  a  beginning.  It  was  the  new  birth 
from  on  high  in  which  they  entered  into 
the  experiences  of  God's  children.  To  this 
same  experience  of  faith  and  love  all  are 
invited,  as  the  Heavenly  Father  calls  to 
them  and  says  to  them,  one  by  one,  "My 
son,  give  me  thy  heart." 


WHAT  MUST  I   DO  TO  BE  SAVED? 

In  one  sense  we  can  do  nothing  for  our 
own  salvation.  In  another  and  very  impor- 
tant sense,  however,  we  can  do  a  great  deal, 
and  if  we  do  not  do  it  we  shall  remain 
lost  forever.  Even  the  infinite  goodness  of 
God  will  not  undertake  to  save  those  who 
disregard  his  conditions  and  persist  in  in- 
difference and  disobedience  to  his  revealed 
will. 

In  the  sense  of  doing  what  is  meritorious, 
and  thus  procuring  for  himself  salvation, 
the  sinner  is  helpless.  At  this  point  he 
is  entirely  incapable  of  accomplishing  any- 
thing effective.  Here  attempting  to  do 
anything  is  deadly.  He  is  guilty  before 
the  law.  He  is  defiled  by  sin.  He  must 
realize  his  lost  condition  as  a  preparation 
for  accepting  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Until  he  comes  to  know  and  feel 
himself  sin-stained  and  condemned  and 
helpless,  he  will  not  give  up  his  confidence 
in  himself  and  look  to  Christ  as  his  only 
hope.  To  try  to  make  himself  just  before 
God  were  presumptuousness.  It  were  ef- 
frontery. It  would  bear  all  the  marks  of 
(35) 


36  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

insanity  if  it  were  net  altogether  based  on 
sinful  ignorance. 

But  while  the  sinner  can  do  nothing 
meritorious,  he  can  do  v/hat  is  appropria- 
tive.  While  he  can  not  do  anything  to 
merit  salvation,  and  make  himself  just  and 
righteous  in  the  sight  of  God,  he  can  accept 
the  salvation  wrought  out  for  him  by 
Christ,  and  he  can  appropriate  to  himself 
the  justification  that  is  freely  offered  to 
all  who  do  believe  on  Christ  as  their  own 
personal  Savior.  The  infinite  mercy  of 
God  in  Chri-jt  is  pressed  upon  the  sinner 
for  his  acceptance,  and  it  is  unbelief,  and 
not  humility,  that  prompts  him  to  say  that 
he  can  not  believe  and  be  saved.  If  un- 
der any  form  of  delusion  whatever,  be 
that  delusion  one  of  a  false  philosophy  or 
a  morbid  sentimental  ism,  he  puts  away 
the  salvation  procured  for  him  and  offered 
to  him  by  Christ,  he)  will  go  down  to  eter- 
nal death  and  ruin,  and  no  specious  plea 
will  rescue  him,  when  it  is  too  late,  from 
the    consequences    of   his    unbelief. 

The  one  who  is  sick  may  not  be  able 
to  prescribe  the  proper  remedy  for  his  dis- 
ease, but  he  can  permit  the  physician  to 
examine  him,  can  tell  him  how  he  incurred 
the  sickness,  and  can  take  the  remedies 
that  are  prescribed  for  him.    The  one  who 


What  Must  I  do  to  6e  Saved?        37 

is  in  prison  may  not  be  able  to  secure  his 
own  release,  but  he  can  let  his  advocate 
know  all  the  circumstances,  and  can  fol- 
low the  directions  he  makes  in  securing 
his  freedom.  The  pupil  may  not  be  able 
to  teacn  himself  the  difficult  branch  he  is 
studying,  but  he  can  be  docile  under  in- 
struction, and  can  learn  that  in  which  he 
is  directed  by  his  teacher.  The  sinner  can 
not  provide  for  himself  salvation,  but  when 
Christ  offeis  pardon,  he  can  accept  it; 
when  the  fountain  is  opened  for  sin  and 
uncleanness,  he  can  wash  and  be  clean; 
when  the  ransom  price  Is  paid  by  the  Re- 
deemer, he  may  accept  freedom  from  the 
debt  of  sin;  when  Christ  stands  before 
him  ready  and  willing  to  bless  him,  he 
can  bow  in  penitence  and  faith  before  him; 
when  the  door  of  grace  is  opened  and  God 
invites  him  to  come  in,  he  can  enter  and 
can  have  the  blessed  experience  of  a  soul 
that  has  found  eternal  welcome  to  the  Fa- 
ther's home  of  love. 

The  simple,  practical  truth  of  the  gos- 
pel is  that  the  sinner  to  w^hom  the  gospel 
invitation  comes  can  accept  and  be  saved. 
Moreover,  he  must  accept  or  remain  lost 
and  undone  forever.  Besides  all  this,  it 
is  his  duty  to  obey  God,  in  repenting  of  his 
Bin,   believing   in    Christ,    and    accepting 


38  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

salvation;  and  the  neglect  of  this  duty  is 
the  one  sin  that  exceeds  any  other  and  all 
others  in  deadly  power  to  destroy.  We  are 
to  allow  no  sophistries  to  excuse  us  from 
simple  obedience  to  God  when  he  com- 
mands us  to  repent,  believe,  and  be  saved. 
It  is  our  duty,  for  God  commands  it.  It  is 
possible  for  us,  or  he  would  not  have  com- 
manded it.  Unless  we  obey,  there  is  no 
hope  for  us  in  the  universe  of  God. 


WHAT   MUST   I   DO   TO  BE   LOST? 

The  Word  of  God  teaches  us,  most  clear- 
ly and  unmistakably,  that  something  posi- 
tive must  be  done  to  save  men  from  their 
sin  and  its  effects,  but  in  order  to  be  lost 
nothing  more  is  necessary  than  to  remain 
unsaved  and  go  on  to  an  unsaved  eternity. 

It  is  as  with  one  adrift  on  the  rapids 
above  Niagara  Palls.  In  order  to  be  sa^ed 
one  must  use  the  oars  with  all  diligence, 
fighting  against  the  terrible  current,  and 
working  the  way  upstream.  In  order  to  be 
dashed  over  the  falls  it  is  only  necessary 
to  do  nothing.  Let  the  oars  drop.  Let  the 
boat  drift.  Let  the  deadly  current  do  its 
certain  work.  In  order  to  be  carried  over 
the  falls  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  anything 
except  to  get  in  the  current.  Men,  by 
nature,  are  in  the  current  that  is  sweeping 
on  down  to  perdition.  It  takes  struggle 
and  earnest  effort  to  be  saved.  Positive 
measures  must  be  employed.  One  must 
accept  Jesus  Christ  in  earnest  faith. 
There  must  be  penitence  nnd  prayer  and 
faith.  God's  omnipotence  must  be  laid 
hold  of.  Jesus'  salvation  must  be  accepted 
(39) 


40  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

The  Holy  Spirit  must  be  welcomed.  But 
in  order  to  be  lost  it  is  only  necessary 
that  one  shall  do  nothing  more  than  to 
remain  an  unsaved  sinner,  and  drift  on 
down  to  the  death  and  destruction  of 
eternal  perdition. 

It  is  as  with  one  stricken  with  a  terrible 
fever.  To  let  the  fever  burn  on  means 
certain  death.  All  that  is  necessary,  in 
order  to  death,  is  that  the  patient  and  his 
friends  leave  the  fever  go  on  unchecked. 
The  skillful  physician  knows  the  remedy. 
He  comes  and  prescribes  it,  and  leaving 
minute  directions,  goes  his  way.  Shall 
the  remedy  be  administered  as  he  bids? 
There  is  the  secret  of  life  of  death.  To 
do  nothing  means  death.  To  save  life 
there  must  be  watchful  care  and  attention 
and  obedience.  Life  may  be  saved  if  all 
is  done.  If  there  is  neglect,  death  is  sure. 
But  so  certain  is  it  that  the  remedy  will 
save  the  life  if  properly  administered  that, 
if  the  remedy  be  neglected  and  death  comes, 
it  may  be  said,  in  all  truthfulness,  that 
neglect,  and  not  the  disease,  has  been  the 
real  cause  of  death.  So  it  is  with  sin.  It 
is  sure  to  end  in  eternal  death.  But  the 
sinner  need  not  die  if  he  will  accept  Christ 
the  Savior.  To  remain  in  unbelief  and  go 
on  in  sin  is  sure  destruction.    The  sinner 


What  Must  I  do  to  &e  Lost?  41 

neod  not  become  flagrant  and  outbreak- 
ing and  blasphemous  in  his  unbelief.  He 
need  not  mock  and  sneer  at  Christ,  and  re- 
vile his  dying  grace.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  to  go  on  without  an  acceptance  of  his 
salvation  and  he  is  lost.  But  so  sure  is 
(3hrist  to  save  even  the  worst  of  sinners, 
if  only  he  will  believe  on  him,  ihat,  if  he 
does  not,  but  goes  on  to  death,  it  may  be 
said,  in  all  truthfulness,  that  unbelief,  and 
not  the  sin,  is  the  real  cause  of  his  eternal 
death.  Thus  unbelief  is  the  worst  and 
most  dangerous  form  of  sin,  and  one  needs 
do  nothing  but  this  in  order  to  be  eternally 
lost. 

It  is  as  when  a  house  or  city  is  afire. 
It  will  go  on  burning  until  entirely  con- 
sumed, unless  the  flames  be  arrested.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  saturate  the  building 
with  oil,  and  carry  the  blaze  to  other 
buildings.  The  flames  will  spread.  The 
city  will  go  up  in  a  wide-spreading  con- 
flagration. It  will  take  positive  work  to 
check  the  fire,  but  it  is  only  necessary  that 
the  negative  attitude  of  doing  nothing  shail 
be  taken  in  order  that  the  city  be  laid  in 
ruins.  So  burn  the  flames  of  sin  in  the 
human  heart.  In  order  to  be  saved  there 
must  be  an  earnest  fleeing  for  grace  to 
(4) 


42  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

Christ;  but  in  case  one  does  nothing,  sin 
will  burn  on  and  on  until  the  all-consum- 
ing desolation  and  despair  of  the  soul  shall 
be  the  flames  of  an  unquenched  eternal 
torment. 

While  those  unsaved  should  lay  all  this 
to  heart,  so  should  their  friends.  We  must 
not  be  inactive  while  those  we  love  are 
still  unsaved.  We  rather  should  follow 
the  example  of  the  four  friends  who  bore 
the  paralytic  into  the  presence  of  the  heal- 
ing Savior,  of  whom  we  read  that  seeing 
"their  laith"  he  gave  heed  to  the  man  and 
healed  him.  The  Lord  regards  the  faith 
of  those  who  in  the  arms  of  prayer  and 
love  present  their  loved  ones  to  him,  ask- 
ing for  his  grace.  If  even  two  or  three 
agree  on  earth,  the  Lord  has  gracious 
promises  for  them.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  there  should  be  four.  But  the  two 
or  three,  even  when  the  two  may  be  the 
parents,  should  make  earnest  prayer  and 
use  earnest  efforts  that  the  one  who  is 
loved,  and  still  unsaved,  may  come  to  a 
saved  life.  Until  those  who  are  loved  are 
saved  they  remain  lost.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  they  should  wander  into  outrageous 
sin.  Let  prayers  arise  from  the  earliest 
infancy  for  the   salvation   of   each   child. 


What  Must  I  do  to  be  Lostf  43 

Let  earnest  efforts  be  put  forth  to  lead 
each  friend  and  loved  one  to  an  interest 
in  Christ.  Let  there  be  conscious  certainty 
that  for  friends  to  do  nothing  leaves  a  soul 
most  unbefriended  and  in  danger  of  re- 
maining eternally  lost. 


REPENTANCE    UNTO    LIFE. 

True  repontaDce  is  sorrow  over  one's  own 
sinfulness,  and  such  sorrow  as  leads  him 
to  give  it  up  and  turn  from  it  to  God,  and 
to  a  life  of  new  and  true  obedience.  If  it 
does  not  result  in  this  it  is  all  mere  sham 
or  self-deception.  It  must  be  a  godly  sor- 
row that  works  life.  It  must  be  more  than 
a  mere  self-pity  and  sorrow  that  one  has 
been  caught  and  made  to  suffer. 

Repentance  is  a  turning  of  the  back  upon 
ein  and  the  traveling  away  from  It  fast 
and  forever,  as  faith  may  be  said  to  be 
Involved  in  it  as  a  turning  of  the  face  to- 
ward Christ  and  hastening  toward  him 
for  all  the  future  life.  Faith  Jn  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  persona!  Savior  is  bound  to 
include  hatred  of,  sorrow  for,  and  a  turn- 
ing away  from  sin.  There  is  no  vital  re- 
ligion which  does  not  Include  renunciation 
of  sin,  in  simple  and  sincere  dependence 
upon  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Savior. 

The  worst  people  in  the  world  are  sorry 

for  sin  sometimes,  at  least  to  the  extent 

of  being  sorry  for  the  consequences  of  it. 

When  one  has  committed  a  crime,  and  is 

(44) 


Repentance  unto  Life.  45 

being  punished  for  it  he  Is  sorry  that  the 
punishment  has  been  measured  out  to 
him,  and,  sometimes,  under  these  circum- 
stances men  will  weep  and  mourn  and 
lament  in  such  fashion  as  to  lead  othei^ 
to  believe  that  they  are  really  penitent. 

But  we  must  not  be  misled  by  such  man- 
ifestations into  giving  the  comfort  which 
rightfully  belongs  only  to  godly  sorrow. 
People  do  not  relish  punishment.  Cain 
gave  no  evidence  of  any  real  sorrow  for 
his  sin,  but  he  cringed  and  whimpered  as 
his  successors  have  usually  done,  saying: 
"My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can 
bear."  But  in  it  all  there  is  not  a  word 
of  acknowledgment  of  his  own  wrong-do- 
ing. 

The  true  penitent  acknowledges  that  it 
is  right  for  him  to  suffer.  He  knows  that 
be  has  done  wrong,  he  remembers  the 
wrong  he  has  done  to  others  and  to  God, 
and  he  realizes  that  it  is  right  for  him  to 
be  punished.  If  there  is  an  offer  to  him  of 
pardon  and  release  he  does  not  simply  con- 
gratulate himself  over  his  escape,  but  he 
appreciates  the  grace  that  relieves  him, 
and  he  pledges  himself,  heartily  and  sin- 
cerely,, to  a  new  life  of  real  goodness  and 
gratitude.  If  he  is  sincerely  penitent  he 
can  be  trusted  to  live  a  new  and  different 


46  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

life.  If  he  is  not  penitent,  in  truth  he  will 
soon  be  found  again  in  wrong-doing. 

What  is  known  as  death-bed  repentance 
is  very  hazardous.  It  is  not  to  be  trusted. 
It  is  sometimes  all  that  is  left  for  a  deaiJi- 
bed,  but  it  is  a  most  dangerous  thing  to 
depend  on.  There  is  in  the  Bible  one  case 
ot  repentance  at  the  last  hour  of  life,  in 
The  case  of  the  penitent  thief,  and  the  ac- 
count of  this  is  given  so  that  tJiose  may 
hope  who  seek  to  turn  to  God  at  that  late 
hour,  but  there  is  only  one  case  given  ay 
if  to  warn  us  from  the  deceptive  and  dan- 
gerous thought  that  we  may  delay  re- 
pentance with  impunity.  Let  no  one  who 
is  in  youth  and  health  think  to  defer  the 
duty  of  repentance.  Each  moment  of  de- 
lay is  full  of  peril  to  his  own  soul,  as  it  Is 
full  of  disregard  for  and  disobedictuce  of 
the  plain  instructions  and  invitations  of 
God.  Many  who  have  made  expressions 
of  penitance  and  faith,  on  what  was  sup- 
])osed  to  be  the  death-bed,  have  recove,''ed, 
and  have  shown,  by  their  lives,  that  no 
saving  change  had  been  wrought  in  their 
souls.  Had  they  died  instead  of  living 
their  unregenerate  condition  would  have 
resulted   in  a  lost  eternity. 

Repentance  Is  not  a  solitary  act  to  which 


Repentance  unto  Life.  47 

the  Christian  may  look  back  as  marking 
his  entrance  upon  the  new  life.  Rather  Ig 
it  to  be  the  life-long  attitude  toward  sin 
vvhich  the  Christian  maintains  at  all  times. 
He  is  one  who  hates  sin,  and  has  turned 
his  back  upon  It.  He  is  dead  to  it.  He 
takes  no  interest  in  it.  He  finds  no  place 
in  his  plans  for  that  which  grieves  Christ 
aud  harms  his  own  soul.  He  puts  it  be- 
neath his  feet.  He  makes  no  provision 
for  it  to  obey  it.  Sin  has  no  more  do- 
minlo-n  over  him.  He  is  out  of  its  king- 
dom. He  belongs  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 
His  face  Is  turned  toward  Christ,  and  it 
stays  turned  toward  him,  that  he  may  see 
him,  adore  him,  and  be  guided  by  him  in 
all  the  days  and  all  the  ways  of  future  life- 


GROWING  IN  GRACE. 

It  would  be  a  very  sad  and  disappointing 
thing  if  a  babe  were  to  make  no  growth, 
but  were  to  remain,  year  after  year,  weak, 
small,  helpless,  incapable  of  intelligent  ac- 
tivity and  effort.  What  is  charming  in  a 
babe  ceases  to  be  charming  when  the  time 
comes  for  the  babe  to  have  larger  and 
stronger  life.  Its  helplessness  and  tender- 
ness appeal  to  our  hearts;  but  if  these  con- 
tinue on  through  many  years,  we  sorrow 
over  it  as  an  imbecile.  We  expect  devel- 
opment, growth,  and  the  putting  forth  of 
strength  and  vigor  as  expressions  of  vital- 
ity and  in  the  ways  of  self-supporting  and 
useful  labor. 

So  it  is  expected  that  the  Christian  shall 
grow.  He  is  born  as  a  babe  into  the  house- 
hold of  faith.  His  earliest  attitudes  are 
those  of  simple  and  childlike  trustfulness, 
and  of  obedient  receptivity  as  a  simple 
learner  of  the  truths  of  Christ.  But  he  is 
to  be  more,  as  the  years  go  by.  He  is  not 
always  to  be  a  babe,  nourished  and  shel- 
tered by  others,  and  led  in  the  ways  of 
peace  and  rest  and  ease.  He  is  to  learn 
(  48) 


Growing  in  Grace.  49 

to  think  and  act,  to  lead  and  help  others, 
to  be  a  positive  and  vigorous  element  in  ad- 
vancing the  work  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Growth  is  the  law  in  every  vital  depart- 
ment of  the  material  world  around  us,  and 
we  are  to  expect  it  in  intellectual  and  spir- 
itual life  as  certainly  as  in  the  physical 
realm.  If  we  do  not  grow,  we  fail  and 
perish.  We  can  not  remain  stationary  for 
indefinite  periods.  We  ought,  as  Chris- 
tians, to  know  more  and  think  more  and 
pray  more  and  work  more  and  be  more 
useful  in  the  years  of  advancing  life. 

In  order  to  growth  and  strength, 
there  must  be  real  vitality.  We  have  this 
if  the  Holy  Spirit  has  imparted  the  life  of 
God  to  our  souls,  so  that  we  are  new  creat- 
ures. If  we  are  God's  spiritually  born 
children,  we  have  the  divine  life  within  us. 
This  is  to  be  nourished,  and  God  has  given 
us  the  means  for  this.  We  are  to  be  as 
careful  as  though  a  little  babe  were  placed 
in  our  arms,  to  nourish  and  train  for  grow- 
ing and  useful  life. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  have  the 
proper  nourishment.  God's  Word  is  to  be 
read  by  us,  not  as  history  or  literature  or 
instruction  in  morals  merely,  but  as  food 
for  our  souls,  which  we  are  to  receive 
daily,  and  meditate  and  pray  over,  and  be- 


50  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

lieve  and  love  and  practice.  In  order  to 
its  proper  understanding  and  gracious  ben- 
efits we  are  to  associate  with  Christian 
people,  are  to  be  regular  worshipers  in 
God's  house,  and  to  use  reverently  all  the 
means  of  grace,  and  are  to  read  the  words 
of  godly  men  and  women  as  found  in  re- 
ligious books  and  papers.  Irreligious  and 
infidel  books  and  papers  and  lectures  and 
associations  are  to  be  shunned,  as  inter- 
fering with  the  sacred  influences  that  God 
would  impart  to  our  souls,  and  as  unworthy 
the  attention  of  those  who  love  and  honor 
God. 

In  the  second  place,  if  we  would  grow  in 
Christian  life  and  character,  we  must  be 
much  in  prayer.  We  must  not  only  pray 
over  God's  Word  for  light  and  direction, 
but  we  must  seek  personal  communication 
with  God,  so  that  he  may  impart  himself 
to  us.  God  does  come  into  the  very  life  of 
those  who  seek  his  indwelling,  and  without 
this  we  miss  the  best  element  and  joy  of 
spiritual  life.  Many  persons  have  the  habit 
of  praying  for  protection  as  they  lie  dowli 
to  sleep  at  night,  but  one  may  do  this  and 
still  not  know  the  secret  and  power  of  a 
life  of  prayer.  We  must  pray  for  more 
than  protection  and  prosperity  for  our- 
selves and  our  loved  ones.    We  must  learn 


Orowing  in  Grace.  51 

to  talk  with  God  as  our  dearest  and  most 
familiar  friend,  if  we  would  know  the  grace 
and  help  that  come  to  those  who  live  a  life 
of  prayer. 

But  again,  we  must  know  what  it  is  to  be 
active  if  we  would  grow  strong.  He  who 
simply  eats  and  drinks  and  rests  can  not 
have  healthful  growth.  He  must  take  prop- 
er and  regular  exercise.  The  Christian 
must  work  and  be  useful  and  helpful.  The 
Christian  people  who  are  working  and  giv- 
ing in  the  church  are  not  only  the  useful 
ones,  but  they  are  the  happy  and  growing 
children  of  God.  Christian  activity  helps 
the  faith,  and  makes  one  more  healthful 
and  hopeful  and  happy  in  every  way.  One 
great  secret  of  a  successful  church  is  for 
every  member  to  be  at  work,  and  one  great 
secret  of  a  successful  Christian  life  is  to  be 
so  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ  that  we 
will  be  diligent  in  his  service.  To  work  for 
Christ  keeps  us  committed  to  him,  keeps 
us  close  to  him,  and  keeps  us  interested  in 
those  things  that  are  dear  to  his  heart. 

By  following  these  simple  and  yet  most 
Important  rules  of  Christian  life,  we  shall 
be  sure  to  make  advances  and  thus  grow 
in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  Savior  Jesus  Christ. 


"ALWAYS  ABOUNDING." 

Paul  wag  fond  of  using  large  words 
when  speaking  of  the  privileges  and  duties 
of  Christian  life.  It  was  not  that  the  words 
were  long  and  hard  to  pronounce  or  under- 
stand. It  was  quite  the  opposite.  The 
words  themselves  were  apt  to  be  short  and 
easily  understood,  but  they  stood  for  great 
and  wide  and  long  things.  They  were 
great  words  not  in  the  sense  of  filling  the 
mouth,  but  with  the  power  to  fill  the  mind 
and  the  heart. 

Such  a  word  is  "abounding."  It  has  the 
largenv3ss  of  the  ocean  about  it.  It  has  the 
free  range  of  the  mountain  in  its  atmos- 
phere. It  carries  one  out  to  the  wide  plains 
where  there  is  no  restriction  to  the  lib- 
erty. The  words  means  "without  bounds." 
Ii  is  the  great  sea  rather  than  the  pint-cup. 
It  is  the  wide  universe  rather  than  the 
imprisoning  room.  It  is  the  King's  treas- 
ure rather  than  the  beggar's  dole.  It  is 
the  grace  of  God  poured  out  without  meas- 
ure into  the  heart  of  the  Christian,  and  it 
is  the  grace  of  the  Christian  manifesting 
itself  in  loving  and  continuous  service  for 
(52) 


Always  Abounding.  53 

the  sake  of  Christ  It  seeks  ever  for  en- 
Jargement.  It  tries  not  to  save  self,  but 
ever  to  be  more  and  do  more.  It  breaks 
down  the  bounds  of  contradiction  and  con- 
finement, and  diffuses  itself  like  the  sun- 
light that  floods  all  the  spaces. 

Here  is  the  ideal  for  Christian  life.  It 
is  not  to  be  selfish  and  contracted,  but 
large,  active,  diligent,  abounding  in  all 
that  is  good  and  lovely  and  gracious.  Thus 
is  it  to  be  with  our  prayers,  going  up  to 
the  throne  of  Grace  for  great  and  wide 
biessings.  Thus  it  is  to  be  with  our  affec- 
tions, taking  in  the  whole  wide  world  and 
bearing  it  before  God  in  our  desires  for 
its  salvation.  Thus  it  is  to  be  with  our 
labors  for  the  advancement  of  the  interests 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  as  we  use  our 
powers  with  unselfish  stint,  seeking  to  ac- 
complish great  and  lasting  results  over 
which  we  shall  rejoice  in  the  eternal  world. 
Thus  is  it  to  be  with  our  giving,  and 
though  in  our  poverty  we  may  not  be  able 
to  give  what  we  would  like  to  bestow,  yet 
God  will  make  even  that  which  is  not  to 
be  as  though  it  were,  and  will  make  his 
blessing  enlarge  the  results  of  that  which 
we  gave  in  faith  and  love. 

Such  another  large  word  is  "always."  It 
Is  a  great  thing  to  do  what  is  good  and  not 


54  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

grow  weary  in  the  doing;  to  be  faithful  and 
steadfast  and  changeless  in  gracious  atti- 
tude and  effort.  So  many  persons  are 
prone  to  give  up  after  a  little  work  for  a 
good  cause.  So  many  start  out  and  run 
well  for  a  season,  and  then  relax  their 
running.  So  many  can  be  counted  on  to 
be  very  zealous  while  the  new  enthusiasm 
is  on,  and  then  grow  very  cold  when  the 
first  flush  of  interest  dies  out.  It  is  not 
hard  to  arouse  a  burst  of  zeal,  but  it  is 
something  difficult  to  keep  on  and  on  after 
the  romance  has  faded  from  the  heart. 
Deep-seated  principle  is  needed  in  the  soul 
to  keep  one  goiag  after  the  going  has  come 
to  be  a  plodding  and  a  grind.  But  some 
have  this  principle,  and  they  keep  on. 
Keep  on  when  they  are  weary?  Yes.  Keep 
on  when  they  are  feeling  worn?  Yes. 
Keep  on  when  other?  drop  out,  and  the 
company  thins,  and  the  enthusiasm  fades? 
Yes.  Always!  By  night  and  by  day,  in 
summer  and  in  winter,  in  heat  and  in  cold, 
In  storm  and  in  calm,  in  youth  and  in  old 
age,  it  is  always  good  to  be  zealously  af- 
fected in  a  good  matter  and  to  keep  on 
faithfully,  steadfastly  and  unwaveringly,  to 
the  very  end. 

Any  one  might  enlist  as  a  soldier  if  he 
might  drop  out  at  the  first  cold  wind,  or 


Always  Abounding.  55 

the  first  rough  road,  or  the  first  dark  night, 
or  the  first  sight  of  the  enemy;  but  the 
Boldier  is  to  endure  hardness,  and  the  good 
soldier  stands  to  his  lot.  The  marriage 
vow  is  until  death  shall  part.  The  Chris- 
tian vow  is  for  faithfulness  unto  death, 
with  no  discharge  in  the  war.  The  stal- 
wartness  of  a  good  and  true  life  is  seen 
!n  a  steadfastness  that  persists,  and  that 
abounds,  not  for  a  little  time  of  pleasant 
hours  and  sunny  experiences,  but  always, 
ever  and  forever,  in  unswerving  faith  and 
loyalty,  on  to  the  very  end. 

We  depend  on  God.  We  know  there  are 
no  bounds  to  his  grace  if  we  put  ourselves 
where  we  may  be  the  recipients  of  it  ac- 
cording to  his  covenant.  We  know  that  his 
promise  will  never  be  broken,  and  that  his 
words  will  be  true  as  long  as  the  heavens 
endure.  Let  his  gracious  and  glorious 
character  be  not  only  our  refuge,  but  the 
model  on  which  wo  fashion  our  lives,  and 
let  us  strive  to  be  godly,  in  the  sense  of 
being  like  God,  in  unwavering  faithfulness 
and  in  abounding  unselfishness  in  the  serv- 
ice of  God  and  man. 


THE  CONVERSION  OP  CHILDREN. 

Childhood  is  the  best  age  for  conversion. 
No  time  in  all  the  earthly  experience  is  so 
opportune  for  this  gracious  beginning  of 
the  new  life  as  the  period  that  occurs  so 
early  that  it  can  not  be  remembered.  Those 
who  are  led  to  love  and  accept  Christ  in 
these  early  days  gain  the  crowning  ex- 
l)erience  of  earth  at  the  time  when  it  will 
do  them  the  most  good  and  make  them  the 
greatest  blessing  to  others. 

A  child  learns  to  love  its  mother  so 
early  that  it  is  never  able  to  remember 
the  time  when  it  did  not  love  her.  It 
seems  to  one  that  he  always  loved  his 
mother.  Yet,  as  a  fact,  this  is  impossible. 
The  love  commenced,  and  at  some  definite 
time,  too.  Feeble  it  was  in  its  beginning, 
and  yet  there  was  a  beginning.  The  brood- 
ing love,  the  tender  caress,  the  gentle 
smile,  the  patient  care,  the  sweet  winsome- 
ness  of  the  mother  awakened  an  answer 
one  day,  and  it  found  expression  in  a  tiny 
pressure  of  the  hand  and  a  little  smile  on 
the  baby  face.  Love  was  born  because  the 
mother  came  to  be  known  to  the  baby  in 
her  mother  love. 
(56) 


The  Conversion  of  GMldren.         57 

When  Christ  is  presented  to  the  little 
child  as  the  loving,  tender,  holy,  ever-pres- 
ent yet  unseen  friend  and  Savior,  the  heart 
goes  out  to  him  in  love  under  the  winning 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  heart  of  the 
child  is  sweetly  susceptible  to  the  spiritual 
influences  that  come  from  God,  and  when 
the  sweet  old  story  of  Jesus  and  his  love 
is  told  simply  and  tenderly  and  truly  by 
those  who  are  trusted  and  loved  by  the 
child,  there  is  born  within  him  the  sincere 
and  unquestioning  love  that  answers  to 
that  of  Christ,  and  marks  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  life.  It  is  an  experience 
which  is  real,  which  we  should  welcome, 
and  over  which  we  should  rejoice.  Yet 
how  many  doubt  its  reality,  and,  instead 
of  suffering  the  little  children  to  come  to 
Christ,  forbid  them  so  far  as  lies  within 
the  sphere  of  our  chilling  fears  to  do  so. 

The  theory  of  a  great  many  persons  is 
that  religion  is  beyond  the  reach  of  chil- 
dren to  understand  or  grasp.  They  realize, 
at  the  same  time,  that  a  large  proportion 
of  those  who  grow  into  adult  life  without 
accepting  Christ  go  on  unmoved  and  un- 
saved. The  hearts  of  the  little  children 
should  be  savingly  affected,  and  every  year 
which  one  lives  beyond  sixteen  without  an 
(5) 


58  The  Foursquare  Christian. 


outspoken  and  public  acceptance  of  him  is 
a  year  of  heart-breaking  peril  to  the  soul. 
No  greater  mistake  could  be  made  by  any 
one  than  that  of  encouraging  or  directing 
children  to  pass  the  most  opportune  time 
of  life  without  conversion,  and  go  on  to 
the  years  in  which  so  many  know  only  a 
growing  hardness  of  heart. 

The  most  thoroughly  sensible  and  philo- 
sophical course  to  take  in  any  matter  is 
that  of  working  along  the  line  of  the  least 
resistance.  It  would  be  utter  folly  to  put 
off  the  education  of  the  child  until  adult 
life,  on  the  plea  that  philosophy  and  the 
higher  mathematiCvS  can  not  be  understood 
in  early  childhood.  If  education  is  de- 
ferred until  maturity,  there  will  be  little 
taste  or  power  or  opportunity  found  for 
acquiring  it.  Childhood  is  the  time  for  the 
opening  of  the  heart  as  well  as  of  the 
intellect,  and  we  are  strangely  insensible 
if  we  do  not  use  every  known  means  to 
win  them  to  the  knowledge  and  the  love 
of  Christ. 

Those  are  the  wisest  and  most  effective 
evangelists  who  direct  their  most  earnest 
and  continued  efforts  to  the  winning  of 
the  children.  The  child  of  ten  who  becomes 
a  Christian  may  have  sixty  years  before 
it  for  Christian  service.    The  man  of  sixty 


The  Conversion  of  Children.         59 

who  becomes  a  Christian  may  have  ten 
years  left  out  of  a  wasted  life.  Let  the 
evangelists  seek  the  salvation  of  the  men 
who  are  ready  to  perish,  but  especially  let 
them  seek  the  conversion  of  the  little  chil- 
dren, who  may  serve  God  for  many  years 
and  help  win  the  world  for  Christ.  And 
so  that  pastor  is  wise  who  seeks  to  lead 
the  lambs  of  the  flock  to  the  Savior,  and 
Uien  train  them  to  love  and  live  near  to 
aim  who  died  to  save  them.  And  that 
mother  is  wise  who,  not  leaving  the  matter 
of  her  child's  salvation  to  some  possible 
outside  influence  in  the  years  to  come, 
sets  herself  to  teach  it  of  Jesus  and  his 
love,  point  It  to  heaven  and  allure  the  way. 
Such  efforts  are  worthy  of  the  best  and 
truest  motherhood,  and  are  the  surest  of 
all  not  to  go  unrewarded. 

We  might  give  the  names  of  many  who 
in  later  life  became  great  in  the  work  of 
God's  kingdom  on  earth,  who  became 
Christians  in  very  early  life.  Many  of 
the  most  eminent  men  and  women  who 
have  ever  lived  tell  us  that  they  gave  their 
hearts  to  the  Savior  at  twelve  or  eight  or 
six,  or  so  early  in  life  that  they  had  no 
remembrance  of  a  time  when  they  did  not 
love  him.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  reality  and  effectiveness  of  such  experi- 


60  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

ences.  Let  us  give  up  all  unworthy  and 
reluctant  doubtings  as  to  this.  Let  us  fall 
in  line  with  God's  providence  and  grace, 
and  use  consecrated  efforts  to  lead  the 
little  ones  to  the  Savior,  that  they  may 
be  satisfied  early  with  his  mercy,  and  that, 
all  through  life,  they  may  walk  in  ways 
of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace. 


THE  IMITATION  OF  CHRIST. 

The  highest  ambition  that  can  enter  a 
human  soul  is  the  ambition  to  become  like 
Christ.  Of  course,  no  mere  human  being 
can  become  entirely  like  Christ,  for  Christ 
was  superhuman,  but  he  may  strive  to 
imitate  his  virtues  and  his  life.  The  higher 
the  model  the  loftier  will  be  the  striving. 
The  loftiest  and  noblest  efforts  to  be  pure 
and  good  will  be  made  by  those  who,  ac- 
cepting Jesus  Christ  as  their  Savior  and 
example,  make  it  the  purpose  of  their  lives 
to  be  like  him  so  far  as  they  can  become 
by  the  grace  of  God. 

Hawthorne,  in  his  story,  "The  Great 
Stone  Face,"  illustrates  how  a  great  ideal 
purifies,  molds  and  elevates  a  life.  The 
boy  of  whom  the  story  was  told  had  been 
accustomed  to  see  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain the  clear-cut  face,  with  dignity  and 
benignity  on  the  features,  and  was  told 
that  some  day  there  would  come  to  the 
valley  a  man  resembling  this  stone  face, 
and  that  he  would  prove  to  be  the  greatest 
friend  and  benefactor  to  the  people.  The 
boy  studied  the  face  of  each  stranger  who 
(61) 


62  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

came  to  the  valley  to  see  if  lie  might  not 
l)e  the  coming  benefactor.  Time  and  again 
he  was  disappointed.  The  rich  man  did 
not  resemble  the  stone  face.  The  great 
scholar  did  not  have  the  features  he  knew 
so  well.  One  after  another,  for  successive 
years,  came  short  of  the  resemblance,  but 
still  he  held  on  to  the  faith  that  the  great 
friend  and  benefactor,  looking  like  this 
stone  face,  would  come  to  bless  them. 

As  the  thought  brooded  in  the  boy's  mind 
he  was  led  to  idealize  the  character  of  the 
man  who  should  come.  He  conceived  that 
he  must  be  lofty  in  his  thougnts,  serene 
in  his  faith,  pure  in  his  character,  gentle 
and  kind  and  tender  to  the  people,  and 
as  he  thought  of  all  these  desirable  quali- 
ties, he  began  to  take  them  on  himself. 
He  grew  more  and  more  gentle  to  all, 
thoughtful  and  considerate  and  helpful, 
manly  and  full  of  sweet-heartedness  which 
took  the  form  of  unmistakable  dignity  and 
kindness.  The  years  went  by,  and  as  his 
hair  whitened  and  his  face  took  on  more 
and  more  of  the  internal  thought  and  char- 
acter of  the  man,  the  people  of  the  valley 
came  to  realize  that  he  who  was  the  friend 
and  counselor  of  them  all  was  the  very 
image  of  the  stone  face,  and  the  benefactor 
and  friend  who  had  already  come  to  them. 


The  Imitation  of  Christ.  63 

The  one  who  takes  Christ  as  his  ideal, 
and  who  tries  to  be  like  him,  will  very 
largely  realize  what  it  is  to  live  a  Christly 
life.  Others  will  see  in  him  a  purity  and 
beauty  and  goodness  and  kindness  that  will 
remind  them  of  the  Master.  He  will  not 
be  able  to  perform  miracles  of  healing  the 
sick,  but  he  can  visit  the  sick  and  comfort 
them  in  their  suffering.  He  will  not  b€ 
able  to  make  the  blind  to  see  and  the  deaf 
to  hear  and  the  dumb  to  speak,  but  he  can 
do  something  to  alleviate  their  lot  and 
to  make  their  lives  brighter  by  his  friendly 
words  and  deeds.  He  can  go  about  his 
business  in  a  loving  spirit,  dealing  justly 
with  all,  and  showing  mercy  and  speaking 
truth.  He  can  live  with  a  heart  full  of 
iove  and  faith  and  prayer,  and  can  help 
draw  those  around  him  within  the  influ- 
ences of  God's  grace  and  life.  As  he  lives 
and  after  he  is  gone  men  will  in  some  way 
be  reminded  of  Christ. 

The  Apostle  Paul  urged  those  whom  he 
addressed  to  follow  him  as  he  followed 
Christ.  With  his  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  spirit  and  teachings  of  the  Lord,  as  he 
was  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  sought 
to  reproduce  Christ  in  his  own  life,  so  that 
others  might,  in  seeing  him,  see  Christ, 
and  be  led  to  become  like  him  in  their  own 


64  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

turn.  It  has  been  said  that  "the  Christian 
is  the  worldling's  Bible,  and  that  he  reads 
no  other."  Certain  it  is  that  the  Christian 
is  closely  watched,  and  if  his  life  is  blame- 
less and  harmless,  and  reminds  those 
about  him  of  Christ,  he  becomes  a  great 
power  to  help  them  to  see  the  beauty  of  a 
holy  life  and  to  accept  it  as  their  own. 

We  have  often  noticed  a  growing  like- 
ness even  in  the  physical  features  and 
facial  expression  between  two  persons  who, 
being  happily  mated,  have  lived  long  to- 
gether in  the  marriage  relation.  Especial- 
ly is  it  true  that  two  persons,  so  related,  be- 
come greatly  alike  in  their  moral  and  spir- 
itual qualities.  If  they  both  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  they  come  to  be  greatly  like 
one  another  as  they  both  come  to  be  greatly 
like  him.  The  change  of  character  along 
the  lines  of  truth  and  goodness  and  purity 
and  spiritual  beauty,  as  Christ  is  taken  as 
model  and  leader  and  friend,  is  the  most 
impressive  and  important  thing  occurring 
in  human  life,  and  many  are  praying  and 
striving  that  they  may  come  to  be  like  him 
who  is  the  Chief  among  ten  thousands  and 
altogether  lovely. 

We  are  not  driven  to  imagine  the  excel- 
lencies of  Christ.     They  are  delineated  in 


The  Imitation  of  Christ.  65 

the  Gospels,  and  so  beautifully  is  his  char- 
acter presented  that  thoughtful  men,  every- 
where, have  agreed  that  he  was  the  best 
and  purest  being  who  ever  lived.  To  be 
like  him  we  do  not  have  to  suppose  or 
Imagine  or  dream  of  what  he  was.  We  are 
to  study  the  record  of  his  life;  pray  m  the 
Holy  Ghost;  give  ourselves  to  him  in  true 
devotion;  seek  in  obedience  and  spiritual- 
ity and  faith  to  reproduce  his  likeness. 
However  we  may  come  short,  we  shall 
find  it  better  to  strive  to  be  like  him. 
Some  time  we  shall  be  satisfied  when  we 
awake  in  his  likeness. 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP. 


"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with   all   thy     "^     *     '^'     soul/'— Mark 

xii.  JO. 

*  *    * 

''Thou  shalt  worship   the  Lord  thy 

God." — Matt.  iv.  lo. 

*  *   • 

''With  the  mouth  confession  is  made 

unto  salvation/' — Romans  x.  to. 

*  *   * 

"He  that   helieveth   and  is   baptized 

shall  he  saved.'' — Mark  xvi.  i6. 

*  •    • 

"This  do  in  remembrance  of  Me." — 
Luke  xxii.  ip. 


CONFESSING  CHRIST. 

The  Christian  life  is  not  to  be  lived  in 
secret.  The  Christian's  hope  is  not  to  be 
concealed  in  the  recesses  of  his  own  heart. 
It  is  as  essential  to  the  life  of  the  child  of 
God  that  he  be  outspoken  in  his  love  and 
faith  as  it  is  to  the  flower  that  it  unfold 
in  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  bloom.  A 
secret,  silent,  unconfessed  Christian  life 
is  as  hard  to  conceive  as  a  flower  that  never 
reveals  its  existence  in  fragrance  or  color. 
AArhat  would  such  a  life  amount  to.  and 
why  should  God  call  such  a  loveless  and 
unlovely  existence  into  being? 

He  who  would  have  an  interest  in  Christ 
and  would  have  the  respect  and  recogni- 
tion of  Christ  must  be  openly,  and  with- 
out question,  a  confessing  follower  of 
Christ.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  spoken  by  our  Lord  in 
regard  to  confessing  him  or  being  ashamed 
of  him.  He  himself  will  be  ashamed  of  us 
or  will  confess  us,  at  the  great  day  and 
in  the  great  Presence,  according  to  the 
attitude  we  take  toward  him  here  and  now. 

Christ  did  not  try  to  make  it  easy  for 
(67) 


68  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

people  to  be  his  followers,  in  the  sense 
of  allowing  them  to  keep  quiet  about  it, 
or  to  compromise  the  matter,  or  to  remain 
his  disciples  in  secret.  He  knew  the  human 
heart  too  well  to  permit  anything  like  this. 
He  knew  that  in  so  important  a  matter  it 
was  necessary  for  them  to  be  fully  and 
openly  committed  to  his  servict. 

If  it  was  a  necessity  then  tor  human  na- 
ture to  be  outspoken  if  it  would  be  true 
and  if  it  would  receive  the  real  benefit, 
it  is  none  the  less  necessary  now.  If  we 
would  be  the  followers  of  Christ,  we  must 
follow  him  in  the  sight  of  the  world,  and 
be  identified  with  him,  or  we  may  forget 
our  allegiance  and  live,  or  attempt  to  live, 
a  double  life.  A  double  life  deceives  no 
one  but  the  one  who  tries  to  live  it.  It 
certainly  does  not  deceive  God  even  for  a 
little  time.  He  who  is  not  positively  for 
Christ  is  against  him. 

An  illustration  is  furnished  in  the  case  of 
marriage.  Any  woman  would  better  be 
careful  of  the  man  who  proposes  marriage 
to  her,  but  desires  to  keep  the  fact  of  the 
marriage  a  secret.  The  great  danger,  as 
many  a  deceived  woman  has  found  too  late, 
to  her  cost,  is  that  the  marriage  was  only 
a  sham.  He  who  is  a  true  and  good  man 
is  ready,  when  he  marries  a  woman,  to  do 


Confessing  Christ.  69 

so  in  an  open  and  public  manner,  in  the 
presence  of  mutual  friends,  and  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  land.  Marriage  should 
always  be  thus  public,  that  both  parties 
may  be  fully  committed  to  each  other  for 
life. 

Why  should  any  one  think  that  Christ 
is  more  easily  satisfied  tban  a  human  being, 
or  that  religion  with  its  offered  benefits, 
is  a  matter  to  keep  secret,  if  it  really 
exists?  Every  one  who  is  desirous  of 
Christ's  salvation  should  accept  it  as  it  is 
offered,  and  in  the  most  outspoken  way, 
before  all  the  world,  should  acknowledge 
Jesus  Christ  as  his  Savior,  and  should 
pledge  him  his  love  and  service. 

The  true  Christian  wiU  consider  it  a 
high  and  distinguishing  honor  to  be  per- 
mitted to  be  identified  with  Christ  here 
on  earth  as  one  of  his  professed  followers. 
It  is  but  a  little  thing  for  him  not  to  be 
ashamed  of  Christ,  for  there  is  nothing  to 
be  ashamed  of  in  the  glorious  and  beau- 
tiful character  of  the  Savior.  It  is  a  great 
thing,  however,  for  Christ  not  to  be 
ashamed  of  the  imperfect  and  fallible  men 
and  women  who  call  him  their  Lord.  But 
because  they  trust  in  him  and  love  him  and 
try  to  do  his  will,  by  his  divine  grace 
assisting  them,   ho  has  left  it  on  record 


70  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

that  he  is  not  ashamed  to  be  identified  with 
them  here,  and  is  ready  and  willing  for 
them  to  take  his  name  and  be  known  as 
his  followers.  And  there  is  a  day  coming, 
the  great  day  for  which  all  other  days 
were  made,  in  which  it  will  be  the  joy  and 
glory  of  our  lives  if  Christ  is  not  ashamed 
of  us.  If  we  love  and  trust  him  now,  he 
will  certainly  own  us  then  and  if  we  are 
lovingly  identified  with  him  here,  he  will 
be  our  deliverer  there,  "the  strength  of  our 
heart  and  our  refuge  forever."  Here  and 
now,  henceforth  and  forever,  we  may  well 
choose  to  be  one  with  Christ  in  the  frank- 
ness of  outspoken  life  and  unfaltering  fel- 
lowship. 


CHURCH    ATTENDANCE. 

There  is  a  philosophical  reason  for  the 
existence  of  institutions  that  have  had 
long  continuance.  There  is  a  call  for 
them  or  they  would  not  endure.  They  sup- 
ply a  real  need  or  they  would  not  continue 
to  hold  their  place  among  men. 

Church  attendance  is  one  of  these.  It 
is  provided  for  in  God's  Word.  Directions 
are  given  and  exhortations  are  repeated 
urging  men  not  to  neglect  or  forget  their 
duty  in  this  direction.  As  an  institution 
it  comes  down  to  us  in  an  unbroken  line. 
The  people  who  assembled  around  Ezra's 
pulpit  of  wood  came,  as  the  congregations 
of  to-day  to  hear  God's  Word  read  and 
explained,  and  thus  they  joined  in  public 
worship. 

There  is  a  call  for  these  public  services. 
Closet  prayer  and  family  worship  do  not 
supply  all  the  needs  of  those  who  pray. 
There  is  a  social  side  to  our  moral  and 
spiritual  natures  that  demands  public  wor- 
ship. And  preaching  is  demanded.  We 
listen  not  alone  in  order  to  receive  instruc- 
tion,  or  for  the  charm   that  lies  in    the 

( n ) 


72  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

Imman  voice,  or  from  some  lurking  will- 
ingness to  be  temporarily  dominated  by  the 
will  of  some  one  whom  we  respect.  There 
is  the  fact  of  social  alliances  with  others 
in  the  community,  and  the  sense  that,  in 
order  to  the  best  results,  all  must  be  in- 
structed, dominated  and  marshaled  alike. 
The  Gospel  purifies  a  community  and  or- 
ganizes its  members  for  high  and  holy 
purposes.  Irreligion  segregates,  dissipates 
and  disperses.  Of  all  places  in  the  world, 
there  is  none  so  cheerless  as  a  godless  com- 
munity. 

Many  an  irreligious  man  excuses  himself 
from  church  attendance  by  claiming  that 
he  finds  the  woods  and  hills  better  and 
more  congenial  places  for  worship.  But 
does  he  worship  there,  or  is  it  a  fiction  all? 
Is  it  not  the  specious  plea  of  men  who 
quiet  their  conscience  and  answer  sober 
argument  by  an  excuse  coined  out  of  pure 
hypocrisy?  The  fact  is  that  most  men 
who  neglect  church  attendanc'j  spend  the 
Sabbath  in  merely  secular  life.  Some  in 
work  and  some  in  worldly  recreations  take 
the  time  which  should  be  given  to  God  and 
their  souls,  and  absent  themselves  from 
ihe  services  of  the  sanctuary  for  selfish 
and  irreligious  reasons. 

The  minister  of  a  certain  church    com- 


Church  Attendance.  73 

menced  his  work  with  his  congregation  by 
a  very  poetical  and  liberal  extolling  of 
nature  as  a  means  of  spiritual  uplift,  and 
contrasted  the  green  fields  and  sloping  hill- 
sides and  running  streams  and  blue  skies 
with  the  pent-up  meeting-house,  greatly  to 
the  disMvantage  of  the  latter.  The  years 
v:6nt  by,  and  little  as  he  learned  of  some 
things,  he  learned  that  he  had  made  a 
great  mistake  in  trying  to  build  up  a 
church  by  urging  people  to  neglect  its 
services.  And  so,  upon  receiving  another 
call,  he  urged  the  people  whom  he  left 
behind  to  stand  by  their  church  and  to 
attend  its  services,  and  to  encourage  the 
pastor  by  being  present  whenever  he  was 
in  the  pulpit.  He  told  them  that  a  flitting, 
wandering,  unstable  life  was  unsatisfac- 
tory, and  that  personally  and  as  families 
they  should  build  up  their  lives  upon  the 
lines  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  sanctuary.  At 
the  close  of  the  service  a  gentleman  came 
to  him  and  said  sadly  that  he  wished  he 
had  preached  that  sermon  at  the  beginning 
rather  than  at  the  close  of  his  work  with 
them,  telling  him  that  he  had  followed  the 
counsel  of  bis  first  sermon,  and  that  it 
had  most  deplorable  results  for  his  sons* 
who  had  all  become  godless  men. 

(6) 


74  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

The  fact  is,  that  if  children  are  trained 
up  to  attend  church  and  to  regard  God's 
commandments,  they  will  become  God-fear- 
ing people  as  the  years  go  by.    This  is  the 
rule  made  by  God.  who  has  decreed  that 
grapes  shall  not  grow  thorns  nor  figs  pro- 
duce thistles.     If  any  man  thinks  that  he 
can  find   God   not  carrying  out  this  law, 
let  him  sustain    his   specifications    if    he 
thinks  that  he   can.     Mr.   Spurgeon    said 
that  at  one  time  he   boarded  with  seven 
ether  young  men.    Two  of  them  went  reg- 
ularly to  church  and  observed  the  Sabbath 
The  others  stayed  away  from  church  and 
spent  the    Sabbath   in   worldly  recreation 
and  wandering  about  in  quest  of  amuse- 
ment.   The  two  grew  into  strong,  stalwart 
Christian  men;  the  other  six  became  dis- 
sipated and  useless  worldlings. 

The  church  and  its  services  become  a 
very  touchstone  of  character.  As  we  stand 
in  reference  to  them  we  disclose  our  char- 
acter. If  we  honor  God,  he  will  honor  us. 
If  we  serve  him  in  obedience  and  humble 
patience,  he  will  crown  and  beautify  our 
lives. 


UNITING    WITH    THE    CHURCH. 

Uniting  with  the  church  is  one  of  the 
most  pronounced  ways  of  confessing  Christ. 
It  is  so  distinctly  understood  to  be  the 
privilege  and  duty  of  all  Christ's  followers 
to  be  members  of  the  church  that  those 
v/ho  neglect  it  have  little  right  to  expect 
others  to  regard  them  as  Christians.  Thos« 
who  stand  aloof  from  the  church,  whatever 
else  they  may  say  or  do,  show  but  little 
regard  for  Christ. 

The  church  is  a  divine  institution.  It 
was  devised  and  instituted  by  God  him- 
self as  the  home  and  household  of  his 
people  here  on  earth.  To  them,  thus  or- 
ganized, he  has  committed  the  sacred  duty 
of  extending  his  kingdom  on  earth.  In 
the  church  are  to  be  enrolled  all  who  love 
him.  To  the  church  has  been  committed 
the  holy  mission  of  making  known  his 
will,  of  preaching  and  teaching  his  Gospel, 
Oi  sustaining  his  ordinances,  of  adminis- 
tering his  sacraments,  and  of  doing  all 
that  work  by  means  of  which  he  reaches 
savingly  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  re- 
generate and  sanctify  them,  and  to  bring 
(  75  ) 


76  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

them  at  last  into  the  glory  and  happiness 
of  his  everlasting  kingdom.  The  church 
thus  has  a  high  and  holy  mission,  and  no 
one  who  loves  God  ought  to  hold  aloof 
from  its  life  and  worli. 

Of  course,  it  is  possible  to  fall  into  the 
mistake  of  depending  upon  church  mem- 
bership as  a  ground  for  acceptance  with 
God,  as  the  Pharisees  did  In  the  days  of 
Christ,  and  as  we  fear  multitudes  have 
done  since  their  time.  But  the  formalism 
of  some  is  no  excuse  for  our  disregarding 
and  disobeying  the  expressed  will  of  God, 
that  we  should  be  members  of  his  church, 
and  that  we  should  there  serve  him  with 
sincere  and  steadfast  faithfuln^s.  We 
must  not  avoid  one  evil  by  falling  into 
another.  We  must  avoid  them  both,  and 
simply  seek  to  do  God's  will.  The  Chris- 
tian who  ioves  God  with  all  his  heart  and 
soul  will  be  found  here  on  earth  in  the 
church  which  Christ  loved,  and  which  he 
has  purchased  with  his  own  blood. 

There  are  many  good  and  great  reasons 
for  uniting  with  the  church.  It  is  the 
general  judgment  of  God's  people  that  it 
is  a  divinely  designated  duty,  and  we 
should  not  set  ourselves  in  opposition  to 
this.  There  is  important  work  to  be  done 
in  saving  our  world,  and  In  order  to  do 


Uniting  with  the  Church.  77 

this  Cliristian  people  should  be  thoroughly 
organized,  as  God  directs,  under  his  ban- 
ner. The  work  of  the  church  is  needed 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  good  and  for 
opposition  to  evil,  for  the  promotion  of 
missions  at  home  and  abroad,  for  the  fos- 
tering of  what  is  sacred,  for  the  advance- 
ment of  what  is  highest  and  best,  and  for 
the  comfort  and  encouragement  of  all  who 
are  trying  to  do  God's  will.  United  effort 
Ls  needed.  Let  us  not  hold  aloof.  The 
service  of  Christ  should  enlist  all  our 
hearts  and  lives. 

Christ  has  instituted  his  sacraments,  and 
has  told  us  to  observe  them.  Only  those 
who  are  tlie  professed  followers  of  Christ 
have  a  right  to  come  to  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  In  order  to  have  this 
privilege  we  must  be  members  of  the 
church.  It  is  a  great  and  terrible  mistake 
for  any  one  to  go  through  this  life  without 
obeying  Christ  in  his  sacramental  require- 
ments, and  without  being  a  member  of  the 
church  into  the  fold  of  which  he  invites 
all  who  are  his  real  followers. 

There  are  some  excuses  put  forward  for 
not  uniting  with  the  church,  but  these  all 
arise  from  timidity,  pride,  self-sufficiency, 
prejudice,   censoriousness,   obstinacy,   self- 


78  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

ishness,  or  other  worldly  and  unworthy 
motives.  Some  may  be  deceived  into  think- 
ing them  sufficient  reasons  for  disregard- 
ing the  will  of  Christ,  but  they  are  all 
as  chaff  before  the  winnowing  fan  and  fire 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Let  his  divine  grace 
be  welcomed  into  the  heart,  and  these  ex- 
cuses disappear  forever,  and  the  soul  that 
loves  is  ready  to  obey. 

We  need  the  church,  with  its  holy  ordi- 
nances, its  helpful  influences,  its  sacred 
attractions,  and  its  beneficent  restraints. 
It  is  needed  by  the  individual,  the  family, 
the  community  and  the  world.  Where  it 
is  not,  the  world  is  poor  indeed.  Let  us 
identify  ourselves  with  Christ  and  his 
church,  and  let  us  shr^w  that  we  love  him 
who  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us. 


BAPTISM. 

Baptism  witli  water  is  one  of  tlie  two 
sacraments  of  the  Christian  Church.  It 
is  properly  administered  by  sprinkling  or 
pouring,  and  it  symbolizes  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  descending  and  poured  out 
upon  his  people  for  their  cleansing.  Thjb 
whole  analogy  and  teaching  of  the  Scrip- 
tures lead  us  to  believe  this  to  be  the 
proper  form  for  the  sacrament,^  and  we 
know  of  no  suflSicient  argument  for  its  ad- 
ministration in  any  other  manner. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the 
New  Testament  take  the  place  of  Circum- 
cision and  the  Passover  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. As  the  Passover  Feast  was  for  the 
commemoration  of  the  deliverance  of  the 
Israeiitish  people,  through  the  sprinkling  of 
the  blood  of  the  Passover  lamb  on  the 
door-posts  of  their  dwellings,  so  the  ►Lord's 
Supper  commemorates  the  deliverance  of 
believers  through  the  death  of  Christ,  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  was  sacrificed  for  us  on 
Calvary.  As  circumcision  was  the  sign  and 
seal  of  the  covenant,  and  was  adminis- 
tered to  all  the  infant  sons  of  the  nation 
(79) 


80  The  FoursqiLare  Christian. 

to  signify  their  being  a  living  part  of  the 
Israel  of  God,  so  does  baptism  signify  and 
seal  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  dependence  upon 
the  Holy  Spirit  for  spiritual  life  and 
cleansing,  and  a  covenant  engagement  to 
be  the  Lord's.  In  either  case,  adminis- 
tered to  the  children,  it  expressed  the 
faith  of  ,  their  parents  and  involved  the 
heartfelt  pledge  that  the  children  should 
be  brought  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
The  Jewish  people  are  still  bound  as  a 
compact  people  in  the  practice  of  circum- 
cision, and  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  Chris- 
tian Church,  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, have  taken  this  covenant  view  of  the 
sacrament  of  baptism. 

As  the  Gospel  was  sent  out  on  its  mis- 
sion of  world-wide  conqu^t,  it  was  pro- 
vided also  that  adults,  upon  their  conver- 
sion, should  be  baptized  upon  confession 
of  their  own  faith  in  Christ,  their  spir- 
itual acceptance  of  the  cleansing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  their  engagement  to  be  the 
Lord's.  Thus  adult  proselytes  came  into 
the  Jewish  nation  and  were  circumcised, 
and  were  then  careful  that  their  children 
should  have  the  right  relationship  with 
Israel  by  means  of  this  ordinance.  While 
adult  baptism  is  for  all  who  have  come  to 


Baptism.  81 

mature  life  before  being  in  covenant  re- 
lation with  the  Lord  in  his  church,  the 
proper  administration  of  baptism  is  to  in- 
fants, by  sprinkling  of  water,  on  the  faith 
of  their  parent?  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in 
dependance  on  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the 
spiritual  life  and  cleansing  of  the  children 
they  devote  to  God  and  his  service. 

Those  who  have  been  baptized  in  in- 
fancy should  feel  under  great  obligations 
to  God  for  having  graciously  placed  them 
in  circumstances  so  spiritually  favorable, 
and  should  be  prompt  to  take  upon  them- 
selves the  vows  which  were  taken  for  them 
in  infancy  by  their  Christian  parents.  We 
believe  this  to  be  a  most  effectual  means 
of  grace,  and  feel  assured  that  the  great 
mass  of  those  baptized  in  infancy,  if  they 
are  properly  trained,  will  be  led  to  accept 
for  themselves  the  saving  grace  and 
blessed  service  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Those  who  have  come  to  mature  life 
without  baptism  have  the  privilege  of  re- 
ceiving it  upon  profession  of  their  faith 
and  their  reception  into  the  church.  No 
one  should  permit  himself  to  pass  through 
life  without  this  sacrament.  It  was  di- 
vinely instituted,  and  it  is  intended  to  sym- 
bolize, and  thus  to  honor,  the  work  of  the 


82  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

Holy  Spirit,  the  second  person  of  the 
blessed  Trinity,  who  cleanses  and  sancti- 
fies the  hearts  of  his  people,  thus  fitting 
them  for  the  service  and  enjoyment  of 
Grod  here  and  hereafter.  We  should  very 
humbly  and  lovingly  receive  him  into  our 
hearts,  do  his  will  and  let  his  will  be  done 
within  us,  and  in  all  ways  honor  him  upon 
whom  we  are  dependent  for  spiritual  life 
and  progress. 

Baptism  is  of  great  importance,  and 
should  not  be  neglected  by  any  one  who 
has  regard  for  the  wishes  and  directions 
of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  a  privilege  and  it  is 
a  duty.  Yet  it  is  not,  of  itself,  saving. 
Only  Jesus  Christ,  accepted  in  faith,  can 
save  us.  What  is  enjoined  by  him,  how- 
ever, we  must  not  overlook  or  underesti- 
mate. He  himself  has  taught  us  that  "he 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned,"  whether  he  has  been  baptized 
or  not.  Let  us  accept  all  of  his  holy  ordi- 
nances as  means  for  the  imparting  of  his 
divine  grace,  and  through  them  let  us  be 
brought  to  know  him  more  clearly  and  to 
love  him  better  all  through  our  earthly 
life. 


BURIED  IN  BAPTISM. 

A  young  man  had  been  converted.  His 
religious  experience  had  been  genuine, 
thorough  and  satisfactory.  He  had  per- 
sonal assurance  of  his  acceptance  with 
God  through  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
he  rejoiced  in  the  blessed  consciousness 
that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  had  forgiven 
all  his  sins,  and  had  given  to  him  the  end 
of  his  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 

He  turned  his  back  upon  whatever  in  his 
past  life  had  been  sinful  and  unprofitable 
His  repentance  was  deep  and  thorough-go- 
ing. He  had  passed  from  death  into  life. 
From  the  old  habits  and  attitudes,  of  word, 
thought  and  deed,  tbat  were  deadly  and 
that  worked  death,  he  turned  with  the  full 
ptirpose  of,  and  endeavor  after,  new  obedi- 
ence. To  him  repentance  was  not  one 
simple  act  performed.  It  was  an  attitude 
taken,  and  to  be  maintained.  He  was  to 
keep  his  back  turned  on  sin.  He  was  dead 
to  it.  He  was  not  to  live  any  longer  there- 
in. Old  things  had  passed  away.  He  had 
entered  a  new  life,  of  new  aspirations  and 
new  relations.  He  was  dead  to  the  old  life 
(83) 


84  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

of  sin.  His  life  henceforth  was  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,  He  had  come  into  the  king- 
dom, and  saw  and  heard  and  thought  with 
newly  awakened  spiritual  faculties.  He 
loved  to  pray,  to  talk  with  God,  to  be  with 
Christian  people,  to  engage  in  worship,  to 
serve  and  follow  Christ. 

It  was  as  though  he  had  been  dead  and 
buried  to  his  old  life  of  sin.  He  was  no 
longer  identified  with  it.  A  new  experience 
had  cut  him  off  from  it.  God's  Holy  Spirit 
had  wrought  a  change  in  him  as  though  he 
had  passed  forever  oiit  of,  and  away  from, 
the  things  that  had  once  held  him  in 
thralldom.  It  was  no  dream.  It  was  no 
imagination.  Let  those  think  so  who  will. 
To  him  it  was  a  real  experience — positive, 
vivid  and  satisfying. 

But  there  came  the  Sabbath  day  when  he 
was  to  make  the  public  profession  of  his 
faith,  and  be  welcomed  publicly  as  one  of 
the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ  in  his  Church 
on  earth.  Thoughtfully  and  prayerfully  he 
had  looked  forward  to  this  solemn  and  im- 
pressive occasion.  He  was  to  receive  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  instituted  by  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  sign  and  seal  of  the  faith 
of  his  believing  people.  He  was  to  testify 
of  his  changed  relations.     He  was  to  tell 


Buried  in  Baptism.  85 

of  his  death  to  the  old  life,  and  he  was  to 
profess  his  solemn  purpose  to  live  for  Je- 
sus Christ.  It  was  to  be  a  public  act.  It 
was  to  be  in  the  presence  of  his  fellow 
Christians.  It  was  to  be,  as  it  were,  a 
public  burial  of  his  old  life  of  unbelief  and 
sin,  that  it  might  be  put  out  of  sight  and 
forgotten,  and  that  he  might  be  known  and 
counted  by  all  as  a  new  man,  risen  from 
the  dead,  to  walk  in  newness  of  life. 

The  time  came  for  the  service.  The  pub- 
lic profession  was  made.  The  old  life  from 
which  he  had  turned  in  repentance  and  to 
which  he  had  led,  was  publicly  disavowed 
and  publicly  repudiated.  The  water  of 
baptism,  ?n  Scriptural  form,  was  sprinkled 
on  his  brow.  The  outward  sign  and  seal 
ordained  of  Christ  was  administered  in  the 
Triune  Name,  and  he  stood  committed  to 
the  new  life,  even  as  one  who  leaves  a  cor- 
rupt body  in  the  grave  and  passes  in  spirit- 
existence  into  the  spiritual  world. 

From  this  time  and  place  he  was  num- 
bered among  the  risen  children  of  God.  He 
lived  the  new  life.  The  stress  of  a  new 
nature  and  of  an  avowed  change  of  rela- 
tion was  upon  him.  Old  things  had  passed 
away.  All  things  had  become  new.  Why 
should  he  who  was  dead  to  sin  live  any 


86  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

longer  therein?  The  power  of  the  unseen 
world  was  in  his  soul.  He  lived  as  one 
under  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  being  "buried 
with  Christ  in  baptism."  Regeneration, 
which  is  brought  about  by  the  influence  of 
Ijie  Holy  Spirit  who  cleanses  the  heart, 
makes  one  a  new  creature.  The  water  of 
baptismal  sprinkling,  which  typifies  that 
cleansing  from  above,  is  a  sacramental 
service  which  publicly  severs  one  from  the 
past,  and  officially  marks  his  entry  into  the 
new  life  of  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ. 


CHILD    CHURCH    MEMBERSHIP. 

The  child  of  believing  parents,  members 
of  the  visible  church  themselves,  is  by 
birthright  a  member  of  the  church.  There 
is  nothing  in  this  that  need  startle  any 
one.  It  is  not  a  statement  that  children 
do  not  need  to  be  regenerated  in  order  to 
come  into  the  personally  saved  life.  U  is 
not  a  claim  that  church  membership,  of 
itself,  is  sufficient  to  salvation.  It  is  not 
a  statement  that  these  children  are  com- 
municants, or  entitled  to  come  to  the  Lord's 
Table  without  any  preliminary  experience. 
It  is  simply  the  expression  of  the  fact  that 
they  are  members  of  the  church. 

The  child  is  a  member  of  the  family 
into  which  it  is  born.  It  does  not  have  to 
be  adopted  in  order  to  become  a  member 
of  it.  It  is  born  so.  This  doe®  not  mean 
that  it  is  an  adult  member,  or  a  self-sup- 
porting member,  or  a  contributing  or  con- 
trolling member  of  the  family.  It  is  an 
infant.  It  is  to  be  cared  for,  nurtured,  sup- 
ported, instructed  and  gradually  inducted 
into  the  doing  of  life's  duties.  And  it  is 
through  this  conception  of  the  family  and 
(87) 


88  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

the  relation  of  the  child  to  it  that  the  fam- 
ily has  been,  and  is,  maintained. 

The  child  is  a  member  of  the  nation  into 
which  it  is  born.  It  does  not  have  to  be 
naturalized,  nor  even  to  declare  its  inten- 
tion to  become  a  citizen.  It  is  born  so. 
This  does  not  mean  that  it  is  expected,  in 
its  infancy  or  childhood,  to  bear  arms,  pay 
taxes  or  vote.  It  does  mean  that  it  is  a 
component  part  of  the  nation's  life.  It  !s 
helpless  and  irresponsible  in  its  early  life, 
but  it  is  as  surely  a  member  of  the  nation 
as  is  any  man  in  public  life,  and  its  ab- 
duction by  any  foreign  power  would  be  re- 
sented, if  necessary,  by  the  whole  arma- 
ment of  the  nation.  And  it  is  through  this 
conception  of  tSe  nation,  and  the  relation 
of  the  child  to  it,  that  patriotic  citizensliip 
has  been  developed  and  fostered. 

We  hold  that  the  whole  trend  of  Bible 
teaching,  as  well  as  the  analogies  of  prac- 
tical life,  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  child 
born  to  parents  who  are  the  professed  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  are,  themselves,  members 
of  the  church.  Our  Presbyterian  Discipline 
states  this  very  plainly  and  forcefully  when 
it  says: 

All  children  born  within  the  pale  of  the 
visible  church  are  members  of  the  church, 
are  to  be  baptized,  are  under  the  care  of 


Child    Church   Membership.  89 

the  church,  and  subject  to  its  government 
and  discipline;  and  when  they  have  ar- 
rived at  years  of  discretion,  they  are  bound 
to  perform  all  the  duties  of  church  mem- 
bers. 

There  are  some  boi^ies  of  Christian  peo- 
ple who  object  to  this,  saying  that  they 
believe  only  in  "believers*  membership." 
They  might  as  well  demand  that  there  shall 
be  only  nothing  but  adult  membership  for 
the  family  or  the  nation.  God  has  put  the 
children  in  the  state,  the  family  and  the 
church.  If  they  are  properly  cared  for  and 
nurtured,  they  will,  in  adult  life,  be  found 
filling  their  places  well  in  the  home,  in  the 
nation,  and  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

There  are  some  who  are  exceedingly 
afraid  that  this  view  may  lead  to  a  mere 
formallstic  or  sacramentarian  view  of 
church  membership  and  its  privileges.  We 
will  grant  tbaX  they  are  conscientious,  but 
we  are  free  to  insist  that  it  doea  not  work 
in  that  way.  The  children  who  are  care- 
fully and  tenderly  nurtured  by  parents  who 
regard  them  as  members  of  the  church 
from  infancy,  as  well  as  members  of  the 
family,  and  who  use  all  efforts  to  train 
them  for  Christ,  will,  m  most  cases,  come 
to  have  reverent  regard  for  the  things  of 
religion,  a  habitual  use  of  the  means  of 
(7) 


90  The  Foursquare  vhHstian. 

grace  and  a  personal  love  for  and  faith  in 
Christ.  This  is  regeneration.  He  who 
loves  and  believes  in  Christ  is  regenerated. 
The  proper  instnicticn  at  the  right  time 
in  their  early  childhood  will  lead  them  to 
make  profession  of  their  faith  and  of  their 
readiness  and  desire  to  come  to  the  Lord's 
Table. 

The  dedication  of  the  children  to  God  in 
their  infancy  in  baptism,  by  parents  who 
regard  this  as  the  sign  of  a  sacred  cove- 
nant, is  to  be  followed  by  their  careful 
training  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord.  This  we  regard  as  being  far 
more  apt  to  result  in  good  to  the  children 
than  the  theory  and  practice  of  leaving 
them  entirely  outside  the  pale  of  the  vis- 
ible church  in  tiieir  infancy  and  childhood. 
We  hold  the  view,  however,  that  children 
are  members  of  the  church,  not  simply  be- 
C!iuse  we  think  it  beautiful,  or  touching, 
or  logical,  or  even  because  it  works  well, 
but  because  we  believe  it  to  be,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  this,  agreeable  to  and  taught  in 
the  Word  of  God. 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 

Tlie  Lord's  Supper,  which  is  statedly  ob- 
served in  our  churches,  is  a  feast  com- 
memorative of  the  death  and  sufferings  of 
our  Lord  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  it  was  instituted  in  the  night  where- 
in he  was  betrayed.  It  is  thus  connected 
historically,  doctrinally  and  in  personal  ex- 
perience with  the  supremely  important  and 
central  facts  and  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
Its  observance  being  enjoined  by  Christ 
himself,  no  one  who  has  any  regard  for 
him  will  neglect  this  holy  ordinance,  and 
those  who  voluntarily  refrain  through  life 
from  its  observance  show  that  they  have 
but  little  respect  for  him  who  died  for  his 
people  and  who  said,  "This  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me." 

We  call  it  a  feast,  but  it  stands  apart 
from  all  ordinary  festal  occasions  as  one 
of  most  striking  simplicity  and  sacred  dig- 
nity. The  emblems  are  the  bread,  made 
of  the  crushed  grains  of  the  wheat  to 
typify  the  broken  body  of  the  Savior,  and 
the  cup  containing  the  pure  fruit  of  the 
Tine  to  set  forth  tbe  blood  of  Christ  that 
X91> 


92  The  Foursquare  Christiun 

was  shed  for  our  salvation.  A  mere  frag- 
ment of  the  bread  is  taken  by  each  com- 
municant and  a  simple  sip  from  the  cup. 
It  is  no  material  feast.  These  elements 
are  intended  to  assist  the  spiritual  grasp 
of  tlie  precious  and  supreme  truth  that 
Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  gave  his  body 
to  be  broken  and  his  lifeblood  to  be  shed 
that  we,  accepting  him  in  living  faith, 
might  be  saved  from  the  guilt  and  power 
of  sin  and  be  preserved  into  everlasting 
life. 

The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  commemoration 
of  the  sacrificial  death  and  sufferings  of 
our  Savior.  He  wished  these  to  be  remem- 
bered. They  must  not  be  forgotten.  There 
is  no  Gospel  where  these  are  not  preached 
or  known.  Knowing  the  tendency  of  men, 
even  when  most  sincere,  to  forget  or  over- 
look matters  of  vital  importance,  and  the 
danger  there  might  be  of  leaving  out  of 
the  preaching  of  his  Gospel  the  central  fact 
of  his  atoning  death,  Christ  gave  the  sacra- 
ment to  be  an  abiding,  external  object  les- 
son, setting  forth,  everywhere  and  for- 
ever, the  truth  that  must  not  be  lost  out 
of  sight.  So  it  has  been  that,  even  where 
men  have  not  preached  the  Gospel  as  fully 
and  forcefully   as  they  ought,   this  holy 


The  Lord's  Supper.  93 

service  has  set  forth  the  great  central 
truths  that  cluster  around  the  cross  of  the 
great  Redeemer,  who  died  that  we  might 
live.  Each  time  the  Lord's  Supper  is  ad- 
ministered the  truth  is  borne  in  upon  us 
that  we  have  life  only  through  faith  in 
Christ  who  died. 

Nothing  could  be  more  simple  than  this 
service.  There  is  no  claim  among  Scrip- 
tural believers  that  there  is  any  priestly 
or  mysterious  work  wrought  by  the  one 
who  administers  the  sacrament.  We  have 
only  pity  and  abhorrence  for  the  papal 
doctrines  of  the  mass  and  the  claim  that 
at  the  word  of  the  priest  the  miracle  Is 
wrought  of  the  change  of  th©  elements  into 
the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  that 
the  holy  sacrifice  of  Christ  for  sinners  is 
re-enacted.  This  is  a  monstrous  perver- 
sion of  the  simple  truth  of  the  Gospel  that 
Christ  died  in  a  sacrifice  never  to  be  re- 
peated. We  put  our  faith  in  him  as  the 
Savior  who  ever  lives  to  save  and  bl^g 
those  who  trust  him. 

The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  spiritual  feast  in 
that  wei  are  led  by  the  use  and  enjoyment 
of  it,  as  a  most  precious  means  of  grace, 
Into  a  helpful  and  comforting  realization 
of  Christ's  personal  presence  with  us,  and 


94  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

as  we  pray  to  him  and  commune  with  him, 
and  as  he  imparts  himself  to  us,  we  are 
nourished  and  comforted  and  strengthened 
for  the  duties  of  Christian  life. 

The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  time  especially- 
appropriate  for  the  renewing  of  our  cove- 
nant with  Christ.  We  call  it  a  sacrament, 
and  this  word  carries  us  back  to  remember 
the  oath,  which  the  Roman  soldier  took, 
of  loyalty  to  the  government  into  whose 
special  service  he  had  entered.  He  took 
oath  to  be  true  and  faithful  in  the  defense 
of  his  country.  Let  us  feel,  as  we  engage 
in  the  service  of  the  holy  Supper,  that 
we  are  not  only  communing  with  Christ, 
and  witnessing  for  him,  and  commemorat- 
ing his  death,  but  that  we  are  renewing  our 
covenant  obligation  to  be  true  to  him,  his 
cause,  his  Church  and  his  holy  service. 


PRAYER. 

Prayer  being  a  Christian  duty  and  a 
natural  impulse,  implanted  in  the  heart 
by  Nature  and  by  Grace,  there  must  be 
some  good  and  great  reasons  for  it.  GrOd 
does  not  mock  us.  He  who  has  created 
the  eye  for  light,  and  the  ear  for  sound, 
and  the  heart  for  love,  provides  lovely  ob- 
jects for  the  heart,  sweet  harmonies  for 
the  ear,  and  beautiful  colors  for  the  eye. 
He  who  has  taught  us  and  urged  us  to 
pray  provides  answers  for  our  prayers  and 
lesults  that  follow  our  petitions. 

Even  if  God  had  never  spoken  a  word 
to  us  on  the  subject,  we  might  still  argue 
that  he  will  hear  prayer.  Earthly  parents 
and  friends  do,  and  surely  God  is  as  good 
as  these  if  he  is  good  at  all.  Children  ask 
and  plead  for  what  they  want,  and  we 
must  ask  God  for  what  we  need.  It  is  in 
our  hearts  to  do  so.  We  can  not  keep 
from  praying  unless  we  repress  our  natures 
and  do  violence  to  the  life  that  God  has 
put  within  us.  Especially  when  quickened 
and  renewed  is  there  a  spirit  of  prayer  in 
our  hearts.  We  are  made  akin  to  God, 
(95) 


96  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

and  our  hearts  cry  out  to  him  in  the  sense 
of  our  need  and  of  the  new  and  blessed 
relationship. 

Those  who  pray  aright  expect  something 
to  result  from  their  prayers.  They  expect 
answers.  They  have  a  right  to  expect  re- 
sults. If  not,  there  is  something  wrong 
somewhere.  A  mistake  has  been  made  in 
this  case.  There  is  general  understanding 
that  the  right  sort  of  prayers,  from  the 
right  sort  of  persons,  made  in  the  right 
way,  are  answered.  This  understanding  is 
correct.  There  is  a  reason  for  this  general 
faith. 

As  a  foundation  for  this  faith  is  the  fact 
that  God  has  made  specific  promises.  He 
says  that  he  will  answer  prayer.  We  are 
assured  that  the  fervent,  effectual  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much.  We 
are  told  that  they  who  ask  and  seek  and 
knock  shall  be  rewarded.  We  have  the 
assurance  that  God  will  hear  and  answer 
and  give  good  things  to  those  who  seek 
them  from  his  hands. 

It  would  be  strange  if  a  single  soul 
should  fail  of  answer  to  his  prayer  if  that 
prayer  is  for  something  at  all  in  harmony 
with  the  will  of  God.  It  would  be  in- 
creasingly strange  if  a  desired  answer 
should  not  be  secured  where  many  persons 


Prayer,  97 

UDite  in  asking  for  it.  If  one  good  person 
makes  a  certain  prayer,  there  is  a  pre- 
sumption in  favor  of  that  thing  being 
right,  and  where  a  large  number  of  good 
persons  unite  in  desiring  and  asking  for 
it,  the  presumption  increases  in  favor  of 
its  rightfulness.  We  then  become  in- 
creasingly sure  that  God,  who  makes  it  the 
object  of  his  being  to  advance,  and  secure 
what  is  right,  v/ill  see  that  this  is  secured. 

The  experience  of  God's  people  in  all 
ages  and  lands  has  been  in  favor  of  prayer. 
They  have  engaged  in  it,  and  have  been 
satisfied  with  its  results.  One  of  the  most 
distinguishing  marks  of  Christian  people 
has  been  the  habit  of  personal  prayer. 
They  would  not  have  persisted  in  it,  and 
recommended  it,  and  borne  testimony  to  its 
benefits,  unless  there  were  something  of 
real  benefit  in  it.  If  painters  have  always 
used  brushes,  and  sculptors  used  chisels, 
the  presumption  is  that  these  are  the  right 
and  appropriate  instruments  for  these 
lines  of  work;  and  if  Christians  have  al- 
ways prayed,  it  is  sure  as  anything  can  be 
that  we  shall  make  a  mistake  if  we  do  not 
pray. 

The  observation,  too,  of  many  excellent 
and  wise  people  has  been  that  prayers  are 
answered.     Of  course  these  prayers  mi^t 


98  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

be  for  things  agreeable  to  God,  for  it 
would  be  preposterous  to  ask  for  anything 
else  with  the  expectation  of  receiving  it  in 
answer  to  prayer.  These  prayers  must  be 
reverent,  believing,  earnest  prayers,  for  it 
could  not  for  a  moment  be  expected  that 
God  would  regard  any  other  kind.  Let  us 
learn  to  pray  in  this  spirit,  and,  in  line 
with  the  good  and  trusting  of  all  ages  and 
lands,  we  shall  gain  a  rich  experience,  and 
shall  have  increasing  evidences  of  the 
fact  that  God  answers  prayer. 


FAMILY  WORSHIP. 

It  matters  not  what  societies  and  organi- 
zations there  may  be  for  the  nurture  and 
development  of  Christian  life,  there  is 
nothing  to  take  the  place  of  the  Christian 
home,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  home  to 
take  the  place  of  family  worship.  Other 
things  being  equal,  there  is  most  of  piety 
and  strong  character  to  be  expected  from 
that  home  in  which  God's  Word  is  read 
daily  and  prayer  offered  to  God  by  the 
united  household.  Out  of  such  homes  go 
men  and  women  to  walk  reverently  ana 
obediently  before  God;  to  do  his  will,  and 
to  serve  him  in  their  generation. 

If  family  worship  were  carried  on  in 
every  home  of  a  congregation,  the  church 
would  be  stronger  and  more  hopeful,  even 
without  prayer  meeting.  Sabbath-school 
or  Christian  Endeavor,  than  it  would  be 
with  these  last  three,  but  without  family 
worship.  This  may  seem  a  very  sweeping 
statement,  but  if  one  will  stop  to  consider 
what  is  involved,  he  will  scarcely  care  to 
question  it.  The  Bible  would  be  read  aloud 
in  the  pr-.sence  of  all  the  members  of  all 
(99) 


100  The  Foursquare  Christian, 

these  familleis,  including  the  children,  every- 
day, and  prayer  would  be  engaged  in  which 
would,  necessarily,  be  much  more  personal 
than  is  possible  in  most  public  services. 
The  house  would  be  distinctly  religious  in 
its  atmosphere,  and  children  would  be 
brought  under  religious  influence  as  they 
could  be  under  no  other  circumstances. 

But  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  forego 
all  the  other  services  to  which  reference 
has  been  made.  They  would  be  all  the 
more  appreciated  and  the  better  sustained 
by  reason  of  the  influences  of  all  these 
family  altars,  as  would  be  all  the'other 
public  services  of  the  sanctuary.  A 
community  can  be  no  better  than  its  homes, 
and  a  church  often  lacks  spirituality  be- 
cause its  homes  are  deficient  in  divine 
grace.  Where  parents  lead  their  children 
to  serv'^e  God,  the  pastor  can  lead  the  com- 
munity to  follow  him.  But  however  good 
and  pious  the  pastor  may  be,  he  is  sure  to 
be  weak  if  the  parents  are  not  upholding 
his  hands  by  piety  at  home,  as  Aaron  and 
Hur  upheld  the  hands  of  Moses. 

If  the  people  of  this  age  want  a  real  re- 
vival, let  them  commence  working  for  it 
and  praying  for  it  at  home,  with  their  chil- 
dren gathered  about  them  in  the  exercises 
of  family  prayer.     God  blessed  the  house 


Family  WorsMp.  101 

of  Obed-Edom  while  the  Ark  of  the  Cove- 
nant abode  under  their  roof,  and  he  will 
still  bless  the  homes  where  he  is  loved  and 
honored,  as  he  can  not  bless  "the  families 
that  call  not  upon  his  name."  The  Jewish 
fathers  were  to  hold  the  Passover  service 
in  their  homes,  and  they  were  to  explain  to 
their  children  what  they  meant  by  the 
service,  and  out  of  that  fact  grew  up  a 
whole  nation  that  was  knit  together  as  one 
great  homogeneous  people.  If  fathers  would 
oftener  explain  to  their  children  what  is 
meant  by  the  great  services  and  sacraments 
of  our  evangelical  faith,  there  would  be 
more  to  follow  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 
Many  fathers  excuse  themselves  from 
holding  family  worship  by  saying  that  they 
are  so  hurried  that  they  do  not  have  time. 
There  is  certainly  some  time  during  the 
whole  twenty-four  hours  of  each  day  when 
the  entire  family  could  be  gathered  together 
for  five  or  ten  minutes.  Presumably  it  is 
just  before  breakfast  or  just  after  the  even- 
ing meal.  Let  all  assemble  gravely  for  a 
little  time.  Let  a  passage  of  Scripture  be 
read  aloud  by  the  father,  or  by  the  family 
alternately,  or  in  unison,  and  then,  kneel- 
ing down,  let  a  short  prayer  be  addressed 
to  God,  thanking  him  for  his  mercies  and 


102  The  Foursquare  Christian, 

beseeching  him  for  continued  protection, 
forgiveness,  guidance  and  grace,  closing,  if 
desirable,  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  unison. 
Such  scenes  as  this,  depicted,  as  we  find 
it,  in  Bums'  "Cotter's  Saturday  Night," 
made  Scotland  great  as  a  God-fearing  peo- 
ple, or  occurred  because  her  people  were 
and  have  been  God-fearing.  We  must  make 
a  new  effort  to  establish,  or  to  re-establish, 
family  worship  in  all  our  families.  We 
can  not  afford  to  do  without  it  in  one  single 
Christian  home.  Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark, 
as  he  works  along  the  line  of  pledges, 
has  suggested  the  following,  which  it 
would  be  well  for  every  family  to 
take  if  they  are  not  already  in  the 
practice  of  that  which  we  have  been 
urging:  "Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
for  strength,  we  will  endeavor  to  maintain 
family  worship  in  our  home,  and  will  strive 
to  make  it,  through  kindness,  courtesy  and 
mutual  helpfulness,  a  household  of  God." 
There  is  no  question  as  to  the  desirability 
of  it,  and  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt 
that  a  blessing  would  follow  its  adoption. 


THE  USE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

Many  a  battle  has  been  fought  over  the 
Bible,  and  it  is  still  defended  with  old- 
time  loyalty  and  zeal.  Against  the  attacks 
of  unbelief  its  friends  and  advocates  have 
marshaled  facts  and  arguments  from  his- 
tory, from  experience  and  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  Book  itself.  It  sounds  as 
if  it  had  come  from  God.  Its  work  and 
influence  have  oeen  that  of  a  divine  book. 
There  is  no  other  book  on  earth  that 
sounds  as  though  it  had  come  from  heaven. 
There  is  no  other  book  that  has  so  might- 
ily wrought  for  good  among  men.  Wher- 
ever it  has  gone  it  has  lifted  men  up  mor- 
ally, spiritually,  intellectually  and  physi- 
cally. Wherever  people  have  accepted  its 
help  it  has  made  them  great.  It  saves  men 
now,  and  promises  an  eternal  salvation, 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  We  believe 
it.  We  are  going  to  stand  for  it,  and  be- 
lieve it,  and  defend  it. 

It  is  a  great  and  divine  instrument.     It 

is  a  sword  with    which    to    fight    battles 

against  sin  of  every  sort     It  is  a  plow 

with  which  to  break  up  the  soil  of  human 

(103) 


104  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

hearts  so  tliat  Clod's  Spirit  may  oommeaice 
the  vital  process  there  that  leads  on  to  the 
harvest  of  salvation.  It  is  a  fire  and  a 
luammer  to  break  down  and  destroy  the 
hardest  and  stoniest  opposition.  It  is  an 
instrument  ordained  by  God  and  used  by 
the  skillful  to  reach  the  souls  of  men,  and 
make  them  wise  in  the  things  of  eternal 
life.  It  is  great  and  valuable,  and  is 
worthy  of  our  supreme  efforts  to  guard 
and  defend  it. 

But  it  is  not  simply  to  be  defended.  It 
is  for  use,  constant,  wise  and  diligent.  The 
sword  that  simply  hangs  in  the  armory 
is  a  mere  relic,  and  the  Bible  is  more  than 
a  relic.  The  plow  that  stands  under  shel- 
ter is  in  danger  of  rust  and  decay,  but  the 
Bible  is  for  daily  use.  We  are  to  do  a 
great  deal  more  with  the  Bible  than  to 
show  the  reasons  for  our  belief  in  its  di- 
vine origin.  We  are  to  put  it  to  the  uses 
that  God  intended  when  he  sent  it  into 
this  world  as  an  instrumentality  to  be  em- 
ployed in  saving  men. 

A  good  place  to  use  the  Bible  is  in  our 
own  private  reading  and  daily  life.  Of 
course,  if  we  believe  it,  and  it  is  con- 
cerned with  matters  of  such  great  impor- 
tance, we  shall  read  it,  and  read  it  often 
and  much  and  thoroughly.    Are  there  any 


The  Use  of  the  Bible.  105 

of  us  who  have  not  read  it  through  and 
through?  And  wc  s.ball  want  to  ohey  It 
and  live  by  it,  Loo.  Whatever  light  on  our 
daily  living  it  gives  us  we  shall  want  to 
accept.  What  shall  we  think  of  ourselves 
if  we  are  full  of  fiery  zeal  in  defending  the 
Bible,  and  yet  do  not  live  up  to  what  it 
tells  us  as  to  daily  duty,  in  all  things, 
great  and  small? 

Another  good  place  to  use  the  BibJe  is 
in  our  homes.  The  good  old  custom  of 
family  worship  must  not  be  neglected. 
Wherever  it  is  forgotten  there  is  reason 
for  solicitude  and  anxiety.  Our  homes 
must  rest  on  a  sure  foundation  or  they 
are  in  danger.  Our  families  must  be  taught 
of  God  or  they  will  grow  up  to  be  godless. 
Our  households  must  have  the  life  of  God 
in  their  hearts  or  they  are  without  the 
vital  power  that  shall  enable  them  to  gst 
the  victory  over  the  world,  the  flesh  and 
the  devil.  However  much  infidelity  there 
may  be  in  the  world,  let  us  use  the  Bible 
in  our  homes,  and  not  let  it  be  crowded 
out  by  the  daily  paper,  the  latest  novel,  or 
the  demands  of  business  or  of  social  life. 

Another  good  place  to  use  the  Bible  is 
in  the  Sabbath-school.  Whether  it  is  read 
in  the  public  school  or  not,  there  is  no  rea- 

C8) 


106  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

son  why  it  should  not  be  in  the  Sabbath- 
school.  The  lesson-leaf  is  good  in  its  way, 
and  the  lesson-text  printed  on  it  is  the 
Word  of  God,  but  it  is  a  good  thing  for 
every  member  of  the  school  to  have  the 
Word  of  God,  in  its  entirety,  in  hand,  and 
it  is  good  that  its  great  and  wholesome 
truths  shall  be  taught  in  their  simplicity 
and  their  fullness. 

And  still  another  place  to  use  the  Bible 
is  in  the  pulpit  Let  every  minister  han- 
dle the  Word  of  God  as  authority.  The 
Bible  is  the  groat  source  of  fact,  argument, 
illustration  and  exhortation  for  the  pulpit. 
He  who  makes  much  of  it  is  wise.  He  who 
makes  much  use  of  it  will  be  much  used 
of  God.  He  who  puts  much  honor  upon 
it  will  be  much  honored  of  God. 

Let  us  be  zealous  in  our  defense  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  but  let 
us  be  equally  zealous  in  putting  them  to 
the  use  that  they  were  intended  for,  and 
let  us  be  sensitively  resolved  to  obey  their 
divine  teachings  and  to  live  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God. 


SABBATH  OBSERVANCE 

The  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  as  binding  to- 
day as  it  ever  was,  and  as  binding  as  any 
one  of  the  ten  commandments.  These  all 
define  duties  of  such  universal  application, 
founded  on  the  essential  nature  of  things 
and  growing  out  of  the  very  necessities  of 
our  nature,  that  the  obligation  to  respect 
and  observe  them  is  a  worldwide  and 
changeless  obligation.  In  no  dispensation, 
under  no  condition,  in  no  land  or  age,  can 
it  ever  be  right  to  kill,  to  steal,  to  lie,  to  be 
idolatrous  or  profane.  And  so  in  every 
condition,  in  every  country  and  in  every 
century,  man  needs  the  physical  rest,  the 
moral  and  spiritual  uplift  that  comes  from 
a  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  No 
one  of  these  commandments  has  ever  been 
abrogated.  In  the  very  necessities  of  the 
case  they  can  not  be.  They  are  each  and 
all  of  them  obligatory,  and  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath  equally  with  that  against  theft. 

The  first  day  of  the  we^k  is  observed  by 

the  Christian  world  as  the  Sabbath  instead 

of    the  seventh   day,   as  specified   In    the 

Fourth  Commandment.    To  this  a  few  peo- 

(107) 


108  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

pie  who  hold  Christian  views  in  general, 
object,  and  insist  that  we  should  all  go 
back,  as  they  have  done,  to  the  observance 
of  the  seventh  day,  or  Saturday.  We  feel 
perfectly  satisfied  that  we  snould  not  do  bo, 
the  first  day  of  the  week  being  the  Sab- 
bath under  the  Christian  Dispensation. 

We  believe  unhesitatingly  that,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  to  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  God  appointed  the  seventh  day 
of  the  week  to  be  the  weekly  Sabbath; 
and  the  first  day  of  the  week,  ever  since, 
to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  which 
is  the  Christian  Sabbath.  Those  who  are 
rooted  and  grounded  in  this  belief  are  in 
no  danger  of  being  swept  away  by  the 
teachings  of  those  who  would  go  back  to 
the  seventh  day.  We  find  that  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  the  day  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection, was  the  day  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  on  Pentecost,  and  the  day  for 
nearly  all  the  religious  services  mentioned 
in  the  New  Testament,  except  those  occa- 
sions when  the  apostles  went  to  the  Jew- 
ish services  in  the  synagogue  to  reason 
with  the  Jewish  people  out  of  their  Scrip- 
tures and  show  them  that  Jesus  was  the 
Christ.  Important  religious  duties  were  as- 
signed to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  thus 


SahMth  O'bservance.  109 

designating  it  as  the  day  for  public  wor- 
ship, and  on  this  day  John  had  his  vision 
of  the  opened  heavens  and  the  glorified 
Savior. 

Christ  told  his  disciples  to  teach  "all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 
These  ixnen  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
for  teach jng  and  writing  the  truth,  and 
Christ  promised  them  that  the  Spirit  should 
bring  to  their  remembrance  whatsoever  he 
himself  had  said  to  them.  When  we  find 
these  men,  therefore,  teaching  doctrines  in 
their  addresses  and  epistles,  we  are  not  to 
think  of  these  as  being  apart  from  the 
teachings  of  Christ,  but  a  part  of  his 
teachings.  The  Gospels  record  some  of 
Christ's  words;  the  epistles  give  us  a  large 
Insight  into  his  teachings.  The  apostles, 
writing  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  guided  them  into  an  exact  re- 
membrance of  Christ's  words,  were  made 
the  very  mouthpiece  of  Christ  himself. 
The  change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  sev- 
enth to  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  made 
in  apostolic  times,  and  is  distinctively  in- 
dicated in  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  attempt  to  dissever  apostolic 
teachings  and  practices  from  those  of 
Christ,  and  to  make  them  of  less  authority 


110         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

than  his  own,  is  an  insult  to  Christ  in- 
stead of  an  honor,  and  is  a  distinct  dis- 
crediting of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Here,  then, 
is  the  origin  of  the  use  of  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  and  there  is  no  possibility 
of  going  back  to  the  seventh  day  without 
turning  our  backs  upon  that  which  con- 
nects cur  faith  with  our  risen  Lord. 

There  is  strong,  safe  ground  to  stand  on 
in  observing  the  first  day  of  the  week  as 
we  do.  Christ  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  He 
said  that  he  was.  He  changed  the  day  by 
directing  his  disciples  to  observe  the  day 
of  his  resurrection,  the  Lord's  Day,  as  the 
Christian  Sabbath.  We  observe  it  thus,  and 
as  we  trust  Christ  alone  for  our  salvation, 
and  receive  help  from  him  to  live  as  his 
children,  we  strive  to  keep  each  one  of  his 
holy  commandments  and  thus  adorn  the 
doctrine  of  God  our  Savior. 

The  Word  of  God  is  sufllciently  explicit 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  observed.  It 
is  a  holy  day.  It  is  set  apart  for  a  holy 
use.  It  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
our  souls.  Religious  life  and  culture  are 
to  have  their  opportunity,  especially  on  this 
day.  It  is  a  day  in  which  we  are  to  rest 
from  all  work  save  that  of  necessity  and 
mercy.    So  far  as  is  practicable  we  are  to 


Sabbath  Observance.  Ill 

spend  the  day  in  the  public  and  private 
exercises  of  God's  worship.  Thus  the  hori- 
zon of  our  thoughts  is  to  be  filled  with  God, 
and  we  are  to  seek  to  glorify  him,  and  to 
become  like  him.  There  can  be  no  higher 
conception  of  life  than  this. 

It  is  well  lor  us  to  call  the  Sabbath  by 
its  divinely  designated  name.  We  believe 
that  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  the  Sab- 
bath. Why  not  call  it  by  its  name?  We 
say  in  our  Shorter  Catechism:  "From  the 
beginning  of  the  world  to  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  God  appointed  the  seventh  day 
of  the  week  to  be  the  weekly  Sabbath;  and 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  ever  since,  to 
continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  which  fs 
the  Christian  Sabbath."  If  we  believe  it 
to  be  the  Sabbath,  as  it  is,  why  not  call  it 
the  Sabbath,  invariably,  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  our  observance  of  it  is  rooted  in 
the  divine  command?  And  yet  the  moral 
effect  of  this  is  continually  dissipated,  as 
people  talk  of  "Sunday-school"  and  "Sun- 
day rest"  and  "Sunday  worship."  The  world 
is  net  going  to  have  very  much  reverence 
for  Sunday  as  such  unless  it  be  believed 
that  it  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  our  God, 
and  there  is  very  little  opportunity  to  make 
the  world  believe  it  is  the  Sabbath  unless 
Christian  people  call  it  the  Sabbath.     Of 


112  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

course  the  secular  name  of  the  day  is  Sun- 
day, and  it  is  an  old  heathen  name  that 
points  back  to  ancestors  who  worshiped  the 
sun  and  dedicated  the  first  day  of  the  week 
to  its  honor. 

As  Christians  our  first  thought  in  all 
things  should  be  the  glory  of  God.  We 
must  make  our  stand  here.  We  must  be 
his  witnesses.  We  must  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  his  Word.  It  has  long  been 
borne  in  upon  us  that  professed  Christians 
weaken  their  foundations  and  give  up  their 
veiy  principles  when  they  permit  them- 
selves to  be  so  secularized  in  thought  and 
speech  as  to  call  the  Sabbath  by  the  name 
by  which  the  world  designates  the  day.  Let 
us  teach  our  children  to  speak  of  "Sabbath- 
school."  Let  the  books  and  papers  and 
conventions  that  designate  it  as  "Sunday- 
school"  be  kept  at  a  distance  until  they 
learn  a  proper  reverence  for  the  day.  If 
we  fight  for  the  Sabbath  as  a  holy  day,  let 
us  fight  for  it  on  God's  own  ground. 


PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 

Among  the  very  highest  privileges  ac- 
corded to  us,  for  our  spiritual  enjoyment 
and  benefit,  is  that  of  public  worship. 
NoLuing  can  take  the  place  of  it.  Where 
it  is  enjoyed,  there  is  to  be  found  worship 
intensified  by  our  association  with  others 
who  are  like-minded,  and  there  is  social 
enjoyment  elevated  to  the  highest  l)lane 
and  sanctified  by  the  brooding  presence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

We  need  to  worship.  Apart  from  the  fact 
that  we  owe  it  as  a  duty  to  God  our  Cre- 
ator, is  the  corresponding  fact  that  we  need 
its  subjective  effects  in  our  own  soul.  When 
we  worship,  we  place  ourselves  directly 
and  consciously  under  the  personal  influ- 
ence of  God,  holding  personal  communion 
with  him,  and  seeking  the  power  of  his 
own  presence  in  our  hearts.  From  every 
such  act  and  exercise  we  go  away  spirit- 
ually uplifted  and  purified.  To  draw  near 
to  God  is  good  for  us,  in  every  way  and  in 
every  sense  of  the  word.  The  true  wor- 
shiper is  elevated^  to  a  higher  plane  of  ex- 
(113) 


114  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

istence,  and  is  exiiilarated  and  assured  of 
his  oneness  with  God  in  covenant  and  in 
communion. 

Tlie  best  forms  of  physical  exercise  bring 
delight  and  satisfaction  to  the  body,  and 
muscles,  nerves  and  tissues  are  called  to 
new  health  and  enjoyment  The  best  forms 
of  mental  exercise  secure  rich  returns  to 
the  thinker  whose  mental  faculties  are 
stimulated  and  quickened  to  larger  pow- 
ers of  attainment  and  enjoyment  by  each 
hearty,  healthful  and  honest  exercise.  So 
the  true  worshiper,  as  he  closes  his~fac- 
ulties  to  the  outer  world  and  draws  near 
to  God  spiritually,  finds  a  joy,  a  peace,  a 
satisfaction,  full  of  exhilaration  and  ap- 
proaching ecstacy,  as  he  realizes  God's 
presence,  and  becomes  filled  with  the  full- 
ness of  God. 

It  is  a  delightful  experience  when  two 
kindred  minds  hold  mutual  converse,  and 
find  in  their  association  a  pleasure  that 
fills  the  fleeting  hours  with  a  glow  of  glad- 
ness. So  when  a  pure  and  spiritually 
awakened  soul  draws  near  to  God,  there  is 
a  delight  which  transcends  all  other  asso- 
ciations and  experiences.  It  is  this  that 
characterizes  the  Christian's  approach  to 
God  In  prayer.    So  long  as  physical  hunger 


PuMic  Worship.  115 

is  satisfied  by  food,  and  mental  hunger  by 
the  thoughts  and  words  of  other  minds, 
so  will  the  soul  of  man  feel  the  need  of 
prayer  and  worship,  and  will  find  relief 
and  peace  in  its  exercise.  This  is  not  imag- 
inary. They  who  tiiink  that  this  expe- 
rience is  a  fiction  simply  do  not  know  the 
meaning  of  prayer.  They  have  not  learned 
to  pray.  They  do  not  know  how  to  pray. 
Public  worship  is  an  intensifying  of  all 
this  when  the  whole  company  present  ara 
true  worshipers.  When  there  are  present 
those  who  .are  not  worshipers,  they  may 
prove  to  be  a  distraction  and  an  obstacle 
to  others.  Public  worship  gives  the  oppor- 
tunity for  many  persons  to  be  wrought 
upon  by  the  same  agencies  of  praise  and 
prayer  and  spiritual  instruction,  under  the 
leadership  of  those  who  are  used  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  the  avenues  for  the  com- 
munication of  himself  to  his  people.  When 
all  the  conditions  are  secured,  of  time  and 
place  and  leadership  and  sacred  exercise 
and  harmoniousness  of  spirit  among  all 
those  who  are  present,  God  touches  the 
hearts  of  his  people  as  a  skillful  musician 
the  chords  of  his  instrument,  and  har- 
monies are  evoked  whose  sweetness  and 
xxwer   linger   through   the   days  to  comd. 


116  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

There  is  nothing  to  take  the  place  of  true, 
public  worship.  God  in  his  wisdom  has 
ordained  it,  and  his  very  ordaining  it 
marks  it  as  a  gracious  privilege  as  well  as 
an  imperative  duty. 


THE  SPIRIT  OP  WORSHIP. 

It  should  be  the  aim  of  all  who  attend 
the  public  services  of  the  sanctuary  to  be 
in  the  spirit  of  true  worshipers.  All  such 
God  is  seeking.  When  they  seek  God,  there 
is  a  mingling  of  heavenly  influences  in  the 
human  soul,  so  that  glory  crowns  the 
mercy-seat.  Those  who  are  devout  will  seek 
to  put  away  earthly  thoughts  and  cares, 
and  to  fix  their  hearts  and  minds  upon 
spiritual  things.  They  will  not  engage  in 
ordinary  conversation  up  to  the  very  mo- 
ment of  public  worship,  but  will  seek  for 
and  promote  a  hush  and  quiet  in  the  house 
of  God  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  ser- 
vice. Heart  and  mind  will  be  able  to  take 
bold  of  God.  Each  part  of  the  worship  will 
be  entered  into  with  earnest  devotion.  The 
attention  v/ill  not  be  easily  attracted  to 
trifles  or  directed  from  the  sacred  oppor- 
tunities of  the  hour.  A  spirit  of  sweet 
seriousness  will  pervade  the  faculties. 
Prayer,  praise,  the  reading  and  study  of 
the  Word  of  God,  will  all  be  engaged  in 
as  holy  privileges,  and  when  the  hour  has 
passed,  it  will  be  remembered  as  a  time 
C117) 


118  The  Foursqtuire  Christian. 

wlien  God  flooded  the  soul  with  the  charm 
of  his  presence. 

It  is  incumbent  upon  eax;h  one  who 
attends  public  worship  in  the  house  of  God 
to  conduct  himself  with  propriety  and  rev- 
erence. Others  have  come  to  worship,  and 
they  must  not  be  interrupted.  To  do  so 
would  be  selfish  and  ill-mannered.  It  is 
robbery  to  interfere,  in  a  concert,  by  light 
and  trifling  behavior,  with  those  who  hare 
come  anticipating  real  delight  and  profit 
in  hearing  the  music,  and  it  is  worse  to 
come  between  a  soul  and  its  worship  In  the 
sanctuary.  Yet  this  is  what  is  done  by 
those  who,  by  light  and  irreverent  conduct, 
distract  the  attention  which  should  be 
centered,  undisturbed,  on  sacred  things. 

For  one  to  engage  in  whispering,  star- 
ing, reading,  writing,  smiling,  laughing, 
Bleeping,  or  other  acts  which  are  disturb- 
ing, is  to  do  what  is  not  only  inappro- 
priate, but  disgraceful  as  well.  There  are 
many  things  done  in  church  service  that 
are  rude  and  wrong.  Sometimes  we  have 
known  ministers  to  he  inattentive  to  the 
singing,  and  to  converse  in  the  pulpit  dur- 
ing this  part  of  the  service.  Oftentimes 
members  of  the  choir  will  smile  and  whis- 
per during  the  sermon,  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  or  even  during  prayer.     Such 


The  Spirit  of  Worship.  119 

acts  amount  to  sacrilege,  the  only  excuse 
that  can  be  made  being  that  those  who  are 
guilty  of  It  are  ignorant  or  ill-bred. 

How  comforting  and  satisfying  it  is  to 
attend  a  sacred  service  where  everything 
is  in  good  taste  and  full  of  the  sweet  and 
sacred  spirit  which  should  characterize 
God's  house  and  its  assemblies.  From  such 
a  meeting  the  minister  and  his  people  go 
refreshed  and  uplifted.  They  have  met 
with  God.  Human  elements  have  not  in- 
terfered or  obtruded  themselves.  God  has 
been  me+  with,  and  his  holy  presence  has 
been  felt.  It  is  to  their  souls  as  the  water- 
brooks  to  the  thirsty  hart. 

There  have  been  instances  of  persons 
coming  to  God's  house  to  scoff  and  remain- 
ing to  pray,  but  usually  when  one  comes 
in  that  frame  of  mind  he  is  like  the  way- 
side on  which  the  seed  falls,  only  to  be  de- 
voured by  the  fowls  of  the  air.  He  who 
forgets  the  sacredness  of  time  and  place 
and  occasion  when  God's  people  are  met  in 
the  sanctuary  for  holy  worship,  and  who 
mocks  and  scoffs,  is  in  a  condition  scarce- 
ly to  be  graciously  changed  even  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Let  one  keep  his  foot  and 
his  hand  and  his  lip  when  he  comes  into 
the  house  of  God,  and  let  him  be  more 


120  The  Foursquare  Christian. 

ready  to  hear  than  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of 
fools. 

A  very  impressive  admonition,  often  re- 
peated, is  to  this  effect:  "Whoever  thou  art 
that  enterest  this  sanctuary,  leave  it  not 
without  a  prayer  for  thyself,  for  those  who 
minister,  and  for  those  who  worship  here." 
It  is  worthy  counsel.  We  should  come  into 
the  house  of  God  with  the  humble  spirit 
of  sincere  worship  in  our  hearts,  and 
should  engage  in  every  act  of  the  service 
with  the  earnest  desire  that  our  own  souls 
may  be  spiritually  enriched  and  that  God 
may  be  glorified.  With  this  as  our  ani- 
mating purpose  we  shall  find,  in  even  the 
humblest  sanctuary  service,  much  to  build 
us  up  in  the  inner  life  and  to  help  us,  in 
our  outer  life,  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
our  Savior. 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  know  how  to  con- 
duct a  public  service  so  that  it  shall  be 
conducive  to  the  spirit  of  worship,  and  so 
that  it  shall  lead  the  worshipers  on,  tttep 
by  step  and  thought  by  thought,  Into  the 
presence  and  grace  of  God.  He  who  does 
it  must  be  a  man  of  God,  accustomed  to 
his  presence,  and  loving  to  bring  others 
within  the  range  of  his  blessing. 

It  ia  a  great  thing  to  know  how  to  retire 


The  Spirit  of  Worship.  121 

from  the  place  of  worship  in  such  a  way 
that  its  blessings  may  not  be  dispersed. 
To  speak  with  kind  and  loving  greetings 
to  others  and  yet  avoid  the  elements  that 
iar  on  the  life  of  the  spirit;  to  cultivate 
quietness  without  appearing  to  he  austere; 
and  to  show  an  interest  in  others  without 
losing  what  the  soul  needs  to  carry  away 
for  itself,  are,  all  of  them,  worthy  of 
thoughtful  attention  that  they  may  be 
attained,  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  en- 
richment of  the  life  of  the  worshiper. 


(9) 


CHRISTIAN  FAITH, 


''Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy     *     *     *     mind." — Mark 

xii.  JO. 

*  *    * 

''Those  things  zvhich  are  most  surely 
believed  among  us." — Luke  i.  i. 

*  *    • 

"Those  things  which  are  revealed 
belong  to  us  and  to  our  children." — 
Deut.  xxix.  2^. 


•    •    • 


"  Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto  the 
doctrine." — i  Tim.  iv.  i6. 
*    *    * 

"  We  speak  that  we  do  know,  and  tes- 
tify that  we  have  seen" — John  Hi.  ii. 


AUTHORITY    IN   RELIGION. 

An  intelligent  being  believes  what  he  has 
sufficient  reason  for  l)elieving.  To  believe 
on  credible  eviderce  is  intelligent  faith. 
To  refuse  to  so  believe  is  as  unintelligent 
as  to  believe  what  there  is  no  possible  rea- 
son or  excuse  for  believing. 

But  what  shall  we  btlieve?  What  is  to  be 
the  basis  of  our  faith?  What  shall  be  the 
authority  in  accordance  with  which  we 
shall  shape  our  beliefs  and  our  life?  Upon 
our  answers  to  these  questions  our  re- 
ligious status  is  to  be  determined. 

W^hax  is  God's  will  and  wnat  does  he 
wish  us  to  believe,  and  how  does  he  expect 
U3  to  live?  Has  he  revealed  himself  to  us 
authoritatively,  so  that  we  may  know  in 
legard  to  these  vital  matters?  Have  we 
any  authority  on  these  points  which  shall 
be  to  us  an  end  of  controversy?  Is  there 
any  authority,  or  any  actual  basis  for  faith^ 
in  religious  matters,  or  are  we  all  at  sea, 
each  one  believing  as  he  may  choose  to 
believe'  Is  it  possible,  still  further,  that  we 
are  at  the  mercy  of  men  who  claim  au- 
thority and  the  right  to  exercise  it  accord- 
ing to  laws  in  their  own  keeping? 
(123) 


124         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

It  each  person  is  a  law  to  himself,  then 
religion  is  a  mere  emotional  fancy  or  con- 
dition. If  so,  one  form  of  religion  is  as 
good  as  another,  or  as  bad  as  another.  If 
religion  be  not  the  acceptance  or  mainte- 
nance of  a  definite  relation  to  God,  along 
the  lines  of  a  revelation  of  nls  will;  if  It 
is  merely  a  self-originated  emotion  or  a 
self-devised  impulse  to  an  exalted  life,  then 
it  is  certainly  the  most  uncertain  and  in- 
definite thing  in  life,  depending  on  taste 
and  temperament,  and  of  such  a  nature  that 
there  is  no  allowable  censure  for  him  who 
chooses  to  dispense  with  it  altogether. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  authority  be  lodged 
in  any  one  man  or  body  of  men  who  de- 
mand and  secure  spiritual  jurisdiction  over 
our  lives  and  our  consciences,  we  are  in  a 
condition  of  absolute  spiritual  servitude. 
No  more  abject  slavery  could  be  im- 
agined than  that  in  which  we  should 
be  fettered,  and  no  more  unbounded  des- 
potism could  be  devised  than  that 
which  this  class  of  men  would  be  most 
likely  to  exercise.  Men  may  submit  them- 
selves to  a  moral  law,  however  rigorous. 
if  tney  know  that  it  is  the  law  or  God,  and 
that  all  are  bound  by  it,  and  if  its  limita- 
tions are  well  known.  Men  may  accept 
spiritual  teachings,  even  though  mortifying 


Authority  in  Religion.  125 

to  their  natural  inclinations,  if  they  know 
that  they  come  from  the  infinitely  wise  and 
gracious  God.  who  has  in  mind  and  heart 
the  enlightening  and  saving  of  his  crea- 
tures. But  to  be  held  in  the  power  of  men 
v/ho  enforce  their  own  demands,  claiming 
theiR  to  be  God's  latest  revelations,  is  to 
be  enslaved  in  a  bondage  which  means  the 
galling  and  deadening  of  every  part  of  the 
being. 

But  we  believe  that  God  has  revealed 
his  will  in  a  Book  which  may  be  read  and 
known  by  us  all.  We  have  satisfying  proof 
that  the  Scriptures  are  the  Word  of  God. 
We  believe  that  God  there  teaches.  It  Is 
intelligent  faith  to  believe  the  teachings 
of  God's  Word.  To  be  guided  by  them  is 
the  part  of  the  highest  wisdom.  To  reject 
them  is  the  greatest  mistake  that  can  be 
made  by  any  human  being.  This  Scriptural 
faith  is  reasonable;  it  is  safe;  it  is  the  way 
of  true  liberty  of  life  and  of  conscience. 
Others  may  help  us  to  understand  GrOd's 
Word,  but  there  is  no  authority  in  any  such 
assistance.  No  creed,  no  confession,  no  ser- 
mon, no  commentary  or  explanation  has 
in  itself  authority,  its  only  semblance  of 
authority  being  its  faithfulness  to  the  truth 
in  its  interpretation  of  God's  Word.  No 
man,  no  class  of  men,  no  organization,  can 


126         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

nave  final  power  over  any  soul,  God  him- 
self being  the  one  to  whom  each  one  Is 
finally  and  supremely  accountable. 

The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  the 
formal  source  of  authority  in  religion  for 
those  who  would  be  strong  and  secure  in 
their  faith;  who  would  be  delivered  from 
the  fanciful  and  fantastic,  from  the  despotic 
and  tyrannical.  To  know  and  follow  Christ 
as  he  is  revealed  in  the  Word  by  the 
Spirit  means  to  accept  the  highest  and  sole 
authority  in  religion  and  to  be  free  from 
sinful  and  human  bondage. 


OUR  INFALLIBLE  GUIDE. 

We  believe  the  Scriptures  to  be  the  Word 
of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice,  and  that  nothing  will  ever  be 
found  to  contradict  or  set  aside  their  plain 
and  intended  meaning.  Being  from  God 
It  is  truth.  With  it  nothing  can  conflict, 
since  truth  is  always  the  will  of  God,  on 
any  subject  or  in  any  department  of  his 
creation.  God  being  the  author  of  truth, 
we  can  be  sure  that  he  will  never  contra- 
dict himself.  For  instance,  there  can  never 
be  anything  in  real  science  to  contradict 
the  real  teachings  of  God's  Word. 

What  the  Word  of  God  distinctly  teaches 
we  are  to  accept  unquestionably,  and  we 
aie  to  believe  and  obey  without  a  thought 
of  hesitation.  Whatever  is  in  conflict  with 
this  teaching  we  are  to  reject.  Where  we 
have  no  positive,  explicit  teaching  on  any 
point,  we  are  to  be  guided  by  the  spirit  of 
the  Word  and  are  to  be  careful  that  what- 
ever conclusions  we  arrive  at  shall  be  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  divine  teach- 
ings. There  are  very  few  points  where 
there  need  be  any  hesitancy,  and  the  in- 
telligent, prayerful  and  reverent  student  of 
(127) 


128         The   Foursquare   Christian. 

the  Holy  Scriptures  will  always  be  able  to 
know  his  duty  in  any  circumstances  of  life. 

Standing  right  here  we  are  secure. 
We  have  authority,  open  and  accessible  to 
all,  for  what  we  believe  and  enjoin.  We 
are  free  from  the  uncertainties  that  arise 
from  conflicting  authoiities.  We  know 
that  we  have  the  last  word  spoken  on  the 
great  subjects  of  faith  and  life,  and  that 
no  one  can  come  to  us  with  rightful  claim 
of  having  a  more  recent  proclamation  or 
decision  from  God. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  claims  to 
believe  the  Scriptures,  but  no  one  may 
positively  know  what  else  it  believes  or 
what  is  the  latest  phase  of  its  interpreta- 
tion. It  has  a  great  mass  of  apocryphal 
writings  which  are  placed  on  a  par  with 
the  canonical  Scriptures,  and  a  great  body 
of  tradition  which  must  be  respected  by  its 
teachers  and  members,  and  there  is  no 
final  interpretation  until  it  comes  from 
their  "infallible*'  Pope.  No  one  is  safe  in 
his  faith  under  this  system.  There  may  al- 
ways be  some  later  returns  to  set  at 
1? aught  the  conclusions  at  which  he  has  ar- 
rived. 

In  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
work  of  the  Church  new  methods  may  call 
for  adoption  which  are  not  exactly  named 


Our  Infallible  Guide.  129 

in  the  Word  of  God,  but  the  thing  In  es- 
sence may  be  there  without  any  doubt. 
Tnus  the  Sabbath-school  and  its  usual  of- 
ficers are  not  named  in  any  of  the  sacred 
books,  but  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
>oung  is  there  directed  positively,  and  in 
the  divine  Providence  the  most  effective 
method  is,  unless  some  law  be  overlooked 
Ox  disregarded,  the  nearest  to  the  divine 
provision.  Missionary  societies  and  boards, 
theological  seminaries  and  religious  col- 
leges, family  worship  and  other  forms  of 
Christian  work  and  service  may  not  be 
mentioned  by  name  in  the  Scriptures,  but 
they  are  there  in  their  real  essence,  and  as 
we  use  them  with  consecrated  purpose  we 
do  the  will  of  God  in  harmony  with  the 
revelation  of  his  will. 

As  to  the  doctrines  we  believe  and  teach, 
we  are  to  be  guided  by  what  we  find  on 
the  sacred  page.  Here  we  discover  all  that 
God  sees  we  really  need  to  know.  Let  us 
be  reverent  students,  praying  as  we  read 
that  he  who  inspired  the  message  may 
shine  upon  the  page  and  may  shine  into 
cur  hearts  so  that  in  his  light  we  may  see 
light,  and  may  know  and  understand  the 
truth  as  It  is  In  Jesus. 

There  is  great  satisfaction  in  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures.    Here  Is  a  mine  of  Inex- 


130         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

haustible  information  as  to  matters  of  the 
profoundest  importance.  Here  we  learn 
what  God  has  taught  us  as  to  himself  and 
ourselves;  of  our  sinfulness  and  of  his 
holiness;  of  his  holy  laws  bearing  on  every 
department  of  our  life,  and  of  his  redemp- 
tion of  grace  whereby  he  restores  his  peo- 
ple and  leads  them  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. Here  are  revealed  to  us  what  we 
need  to  know  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  of  life  and  death,  of  heaven 
and  hell.  Here  shines  divine  light  on  the 
believer's  daily  pathway,  showing  him  how 
to  walk  and  pray  and  do  God's  will.  Here 
we  learn  of  Christian  life  and  work  and  of 
the  ordinances  of  God's  house.  Sufficient 
is  the  Word  of  God  as  a  lamp  to  our  feet 
and  a  light  to  our  path  in  all  our  earthly 
pilgrimage. 


WHAT  IS  GOD? 

There  can  be  no  perfect  definition  of 
God  for,  being  infinite, he  can  not  be  defined. 
There  have  been  many  attempted  defini- 
tions, but  they  are  all  necessarily  imper- 
fect, We  have  only  a  partial  knowledge  of 
him,  and  even  if  he  were  to  make  a  com- 
plete revelation  of  himself,  we  should  not 
be  able,  with  our  finite  powers,  to  grasp 
the  infinite  truth.  We  are  to  be  very  rever- 
ent when  we  undertake  to  tell  of  God. 

It  would  be  very  incorrect,  however, 
should  we  say  that  we  know  nothing  of 
God.  We  do  know  many  great  and  glorious 
trur.hs  about  him.  He  has  seen  fit  to  re- 
veal himself  to  us  in  many  gracious  ways. 
He  has  manifested  himself  to  us  in  Cre- 
ation, in  Providence,  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, in  Christ  and  through  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and  we  know  so  much  about  him 
and  about  the  duty  we  owe  to  him,  that 
if  we  do  not  love  and  obey  him  we  shall 
be  left  without  excuse  and  be  involved  in 
eternal  ruin. 

God  is  the  great  uncaused  first-cause 
and  the  uncreated  source  of  all  that  exists. 
He  is  our  Creator  and  our  Preserver.  The 
(131) 


132         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

universe  is  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  He 
spake  and  it  was  done;  he  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast.  The  Scriptures  do  not 
undertake  to  prove  that  God  exists  or  to 
tell  us  how  he  came  to  exist.  In  the  very 
first  words  that  are  recorded  his  being  is 
sublimely  postulated  in  the  magnificent 
announcement:  "In  the  beginning  God 
created." 

God  is  a  Person.  He  is  not  merely  a 
power  at  work  in  the  heart  of  things,  a 
tendency,  an  impulse,  the  life  that  is  every- 
where manifest,  in  the  atoms  of  the  vege- 
table and  animal  streams  of  existence.  Nor 
is  he  merely  the  power  that  works  invisibly 
and  impersonallj  to  promote  the  cause  of 
righteousness  according  to  an  unerring  law 
that  makes  the  right  to  succeed  in  the  long 
run.  People  sometimes  talk  very  vaguely, 
endeavoring  to  banish  God  as  a  person 
from  the  universe,  and  yet  under  the  cover 
of  polite  words  that  will  veil  their  atheistic 
attitude  and  spirit.  God  is  a  person  who, 
with  a  wise  plan  and  a  gracious  purpose, 
an  infinitely  loving  heart  and  an  inflexible 
will,  is  ruling  the  universe,  material  and 
spiritual,  which  he  himself  created. 

God  is  a  Spirit.  He  is  not  limited  by 
a  body  as  are  we.  He  is  not  circumscribed 
by   conditions    of    time   or   place.      He    Is 


What  is  God?  133 


everywhere  present.  He  is  the  same  yes^ 
terday,  to-day  and  forever.  A  thousand 
years  are  in  his  sight  as  one  day,  and 
one  day  as  a  thousand  years.  He  is  about 
ns,  and  we  can  not  perceive  him  with  our 
bodily  senses,  and  we  can  not  elude  him 
though  we  flee  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the- 
earth.  The  darkness  and  the  light  are 
both  alike  to  him.  The  words  of  our  mouth 
are  known  to  him  before  they  are  utlered. 
and  the  inmost  thoughts  of  our  hearts  lie 
open  before  the  sight  of  him  with  whom  we 
have  to  do.  His  judgments  are  unsearch- 
able and  his  ways  past  finding  out. 

Outside  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves, 
no  more  satisfactory  or  wiser  words  were 
ever  framed  in  reference  to  the  Supreme 
Being  than  the  answer  in  the  Westminster 
Shorter  Catechism  to  the  question:  "What 
is  God?"  "God  is  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal 
and  unchangeable,  in  his  being,  wisdom, 
power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness  and 
truth."  These  were  the  words  that  came 
to  the  lips  of  George  Gillespie,  while  lead- 
ing the  Assembly  as  it  was  bowed  in 
prayer,  asking  for  wisdom  to  frame  a 
proper  answer  to  this  great  question.  They 
were  accepted  as  an  answer  to  the  prayer 
and  were  adopted  as  an  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, and  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to 


134         The   Foursquare   Christian. 

add  or  take  away  a  word  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  definition  as  it  was  then 
adopted.  These  words  are  worthy  of  a 
place  in  our  minds  as  an  aid  to  us  in  our 
comprehension  of  him  to  whom  we  should 
render   adoring   and   loving    obedience. 

This  one  only  living  and  true  God  has 
made  himself  known  to  us  as  Father,  Son 
UDd  Holy  Spirit.  In  his  Infinite,  eternal 
and  unchangeable  spiritual  personality  we 
worship  him  with  reverence  and  Godly  fear, 
seeking  to  know  and  do  his  holy  will.  We 
are  sinners  by  nature  and  he  is  holy;  we  are 
weak  and  he  is  almighty;  we  are  ignorant 
and  he  is  omniscient:  we  are  little  in  all 
our  being  and  faculties  and  he  is  infiaite 
iji  all  his  attributes.  But  be  invites  us  to 
come  to  him  in  repentance  and  seek  his 
forgiveness;  in  faith  and  aak  his  justifying 
mercy;  in  trustful  confidence  and  accept 
his  gracious  and  eternal  tavor.  So  we 
come  to  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  taught  us  to  pray,  saying,  "Our 
Father  which  art  in  heaven." 


CHRIST,  THE  ETERNAL  SON. 

Christ  is  to  us  the  revelation  of  God. 
We  find  it  said:  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time.  The  only  begotten  Son,  which 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  re- 
vealed him."  It  is  in  the  person  of  Christ, 
the  incarnate  God,  that  we  learn  what  God 
is  and  what  he  wishes  us  to  think  of  him- 
self. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  mani- 
festations or  revelations  of  God  have  been 
made  through  the  Second  Person  of  the 
Trinity.  Christ  is  called  the  Word  because 
he  speaks  or  makes  known  the  eternal  and 
infinite  truth  of  the  absolute  God  which 
we  could  never  have  known  without  such 
revelation,  for  "No  man  hath  seen  God  al 
any  time." 

The  Word  spoke  at  Creation.  This  was 
Christ,  the  Second  Person.  "God  said." 
That  was  the  Word  speaking.  Creation  was 
Christ's  work.  We  read  in  Eph.  i.  16,  "For 
by  him  were  all  things  created,  that  are  in 
heaven,  and  that  are  In  earth,  visible  and 
invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones  or  do- 
minions or  principalities  or  powers;  all 
( 135  ) 


136         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

things  were  created  by  him  and  for  him." 
This  is  clear  and  plain.  The  universe  in 
all  its  beauty  and  glory  is  an  outgoing  of 
the  power  and  love  of  God  through  Christ 
the  great  Revealer  and  Manifester  of  God. 

The  Word  spoke  with  especial  clearness 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Here  we  find  God 
manifested.  Here  is  a  wonderful  expres- 
sion of  the  divine  truth,  in  revealing  the 
mind  and  will  and  character  of  God.  If 
there  had  never  been  anything  more  than 
this,  we  should  be  utterly  without  excuse 
should  we  go  on  in  sin  against  God.  Christ, 
through  the  Holy  Spirit,  spoke  to  the 
prophets  and  apostles  and  evangelists,  and 
guided  them  in  making  the  record  in  this 
holy  volume  which  is  called  with  clear  dis- 
tinction, the  Word  of  God. 

But  the  Word  spoke  with  the  plainest 
revelation  in  the  divine-human  life  of 
Jesus  Christ.  In  his  words  and  actions 
we  learn  as  nowhere  else  the  real  life  and 
character  of  God.  We  do  well  to  be  docile 
and  reverent  as  we  listen  to  him  and  look 
upon  him.  The  life  of  God  is  manifest  in 
Christ,  and  his  life  is  the  light  of  men, 
to  shine  into  their  hearts  and  on  their 
pathways  to  show  them  the  way  to  glory. 

In    Christ  we  learn,  that  God  is    holy. 


Christ,  the  Eternal  Son.  137 

Everywhere  through  the  whole  of  Christ's 
earthly  life  shone  the  light  of  perfect  holi- 
ness. No  one  has  ever  dared  to  accuse 
him  of  wrong-doing.  Even  the  worst  ene- 
mies of  the  Gospel  have  never  dared  to 
speak  one  word  of  evil  against  Jesus.  In 
his  absolute  consciousness  of  holiness  he 
said  himself:  "Which  of  you  convinceth  me 
of  sin?"  He  taught  spiritual  holiness,  not 
a  mere  morality  of  life.  He  pleaded  for  a 
deep  and  sincere  holiness  of  life  and  heart, 
so  that  we  should  be  pure  and  loving  in  the 
very  depths  of  our  being  where  only  our 
own  eyes  and  the  eye  of  God  can  search  us. 
In  Christ  we  learn  that  God  is  loving. 
There  is  no  mistaking  this  if  we  read  what 
Christ  said,  and  of  what  Christ  did.  We 
come  to  feel  that  Christ  had  a  heart  of  ten- 
derness infinitely  more  tender  than  human 
beings  in  their  best  conditions.  He  loved 
not  only  friends  and  neighbors,  not  only 
the  helpless  and  friendless,  not  only  the 
outcast  and  miserable,  but  the  sinful  and 
defiled.  For  them  he  was  ready  to  give  up 
his  ease  and  comfort,  and  sacrifice  himself 
to  bless  them.  His  life  and  words  taught 
love  to  all  the  world  and  teach  us  still  how 
God  loves  us. 
(10) 


138         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

In  Christ  we  learn  that  God  is  just.  The 
love  of  Christ  was  not  weak  amiability.  It 
did  not  overlook  the  difference  between 
sin  and  holiness.  It  did  not  express  in- 
difference as  to  moral  distinctions.  It 
sought  to  save  sinners,  but  we  were  taught 
that  sin  is  so  hateful  and  so  terrible  a 
thing  that  in  order  to  save  men  from  it 
the  Savior  must  die.  On  Calvary  he  did 
die,  the  Just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might 
reconcile  us  to  God. 

The  great  truths  of  Creation,  Providence, 
Revelation  and  Redemption  come  to  us 
through  Jesus  Christ.  We  learn  from  him 
the  holiness,  love  and  justice  of  God,  and 
we  should  be  led  by  him  to  repentance, 
saving  faith  and  adoring  love. 


SIN  AND  THE  ATONEMENT. 

Law  has  its  penalties.  It  commands, 
but  it  threatens  at  the  same  time.  If  the 
command  is  not  obeyed,  or  is  disobeyed, 
the  penalty  follows.  We  disregard  law 
then  upon  our  own  peril,  and  violation 
brings  consequences  that  may  involve  us 
in  great  sorrow  and  pain  and  loss.  He 
who  violates  the  law  as  to  fire  is  burned, 
and  he  who  disregards  the  law  of  the  at- 
traction of  gravitation  may  be  crushed. 

Human  government  could  not  exist 
without  laws  regulating  the  relations  and 
dealings  of  men,  and  these  laws  have  their 
penal  sanctions,  with  oflBcers  and  courts 
for  passing  judgment  and  administering 
penalties.  If  men  were  permitted  to  live 
and  act  as  they  chose,  neither  person  nor 
property  would  be  safe;  violence  would 
prevail;  evil  would  reign,  and  society 
would  be  involved  in  ruin.  Laws  must  be 
made  and  enforced  to  hold  evil  in  check 
and  to  protect  the  innocent,  defenceless 
and  law-abiding. 

The  divine  government  can  not  exist 
without  law.  God  is  good,  but  he  is  wise 
(139) 


140         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

and  he  is  just.  In  carrying  on  his  moral 
and  spiritual  government  wisdom  and 
justice  are  as  necessary  as  goodness.  There 
could  be  no  goodness  without  these  other 
attributes,  as  without  them  his  govern- 
ment would  perish,  and  all  would  be  in- 
volved in  ruin. 

Sin  is  a  terrible  thing.  He  who  does 
not  think  so  has  no  proper  conceptions  of 
right  and  wrong,  of  God's  nature  and  au- 
thority, or  of  our  relations  and  duties. 
Sin  is  rebellion.  Sin  is  atheistic  in  its  es- 
sence. It  strives  to  rob  God  of  his  throne 
and  crown.  Sin  is  destructive  to  moral 
order,  and  if  permitted  to  go  on  unre- 
buked  and  unchecked,  would  bring  disas- 
ter and  ruin  to  the  universe.  But  sin 
will  not  go  unpunished.  God  reigns  and 
will  reign  and  must  reign.  Tlie  soul  that 
sins  against  him  and  his  holy  laws  must 
die.  But  it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  receive 
the  sentence  of  death  and  all  are  sinners. 
To  punish  all  sinners  would  mean  black- 
ness of  darkness  eternal  for  all. 

God  is  not  willing  that  all  should  perish. 
He  takes  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  any 
sinner,  and  would  rather  that  each  and 
all  would  turn  to  him  and  live.  He  cries 
from  his  loving  heart,  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye, 


Sin  and  the  Atonement.  141 

for  why  will  ye  die?"  He  invites  us  to 
turn  from  our  sins  in  repentance.  If  we 
only  heed  his  words,  we  must  be  startled 
and  led  to  realize  our  terrible  condition. 
Why  should  we  not  be  sorry  for  our  sin, 
as  well  as  horrified  at  the  knowledge  of 
the  results  of  our  sin?  When  we  stop  and 
listen  to  the  pleadings  and  warnings  of 
God  we  see  that  he  is  grieved  over  our 
course  and  our  condition,  and  we  see  the 
terrible  gulf  yawning  at  our  feet.  If  we 
will  turn  to  God,  he  will  forgive  us,  de- 
livering us  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and 
taking  us  back  to  his  favor. 

But  even  God  can  not  forgive  sin  with- 
out regard  to  its  punishment.  This  would 
be  to  override  law  and  set  it  aside  at  his 
arbitrary  pleasure.  No  government  could 
survive  such  a  course.  God  does  not  at- 
tempt it.  Jesus  Christ  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  sinner.  He  has  died  in  the  stead  of 
all  those  who  will  accept  him  as  their 
substitute.  He  is  just  and  holy,  and  the 
law  had  no  claim  upon  him,  and  when  he 
yielded  himself  as  a  sacrifice  for  sinners 
his  infinite  merits  fully  satisfied  all  the 
claims  that  Justice  could  have  upon  all 
finite  ones  who  wouli  come  repentantly 
accepting  his  mercy.  In  his  person  the 
law  was  vindicated  as  holy,  all  just  de- 


142         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

mands  against  repentant  and  believing 
sinners  were  satisfied,  and  God  is  able  In 
his  love  for  sinners  to  pardon  and  accept 
and  save  all  who  come  in  the  name  of 
Christ. 

No  one  claims  to  understand  all  the  tre- 
mendous significancy  of  the  Atonement. 
But  we  may  accept  Christ  as  our  atoning 
Savior  and  feel  and  know  that  we  are  at 
peace  with  God.  To  this  we  are  invited. 
The  truth  of  the  Atonement  humbles  man 
and  exalts  and  glorifies  God.  It  reveals 
him  to  us  as  unwilling  that  we  should 
perish  and  devising  means,  at  infinite  cost 
to  himself,  for  our  salvation.  If  we  dis- 
regard this  saving  love  of  God  in  Christ 
for  us,  we  are  lost  without  remedy.  If 
we  repent  and  believe,  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanses  us  from  all  sin. 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

The  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead  was  an  expression  of  his  al- 
mighty power.  He  had  told  the  disciples 
that  he  had  power  to  lay  down  his  life  and 
power  to  take  it  up  again.  After  his  resur- 
rection they  remembered  that  he  had  as- 
serted this,  and  their  faith  in  him  was  made 
all  the  stronger.  There  was  a  convincing 
proof  of  his  divineness  in  his  fulfillment  of 
such  a  promise  as  this. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  convinces  us 
also  of  the  value  of  his  death.  It  was  to 
be  an  atoning  death  for  his  believing  peo- 
ple. He  was  to  be  v/ounded  for  their 
transgressions  and  braised  for  their  In- 
iquities, the  chastisement  of  their  peace  was 
to  be  laid  upon  him  and  by  his  stripes  they 
were  to  be  healed.  Christ's  death  was  more 
than  that  of  a  good  man.  It  was  the  death 
cf  the  divine  Son  of  God  who  came  Into 
this  world  to  live  and  die  for  men.  He 
"was  not  simply  a  martyr  who  is  assailed 
and  persecuted  and  killed.  He  was  the 
atoning  Savior  who,  voluntarily  and  lov- 
ingly, died  that  we  might  live.  Had  he 
(143) 


144         The  Foursquare  Christian, 

not  risen,  his  enemiej  would  have  rejoiced 
over  his  absolute  defeat,  and  his  friends 
would  have  sorrowed  and  cherished  his 
memory.  But  Christ  arose.  He  fulfilled 
every  promise.  He  triumphed  over  death, 
the  grave  and  his  enemies.  He  rejoiced  his 
followers,  and  has  been  their  victorious 
leader  and  Lord. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  assures  us 
that  he  is  able  also  to  raise  us  from  the 
dead.  We  trust  our  future  life  to  him 
without  fear.  We  are  sure  that  he  who  was 
able  to  rise  from  the  grave  is  able  to  raise 
all  those  who  trust  in  him.  This  is  an  Im- 
measurable comfort.  The  grave  is  robbed 
of  Its  darkness.  Death  Is  no  king  of  ter- 
rors to  us.  When  we  die,  if  we  are  God's 
children,  we  know  that  we  have  been  sent 
for  by  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  we  go 
in  the  faith  of  Jesus  to  be  forever  with  him 
who  has  power  to  deliver  us  from  death  and 
the  fear  of  death. 

When  Christ  was  upon  earth  he  raised 
many  persons  from  death.  There  was  the 
liltle  maiden  who  had  jusi  died.  There  was 
the  widow's  son  who  was  being  carried  to 
his  burial.  There  was  Lazarus,  who  had 
been  dead  for  four  days,  upon  whose  flesh 
was  already  the  inread  of  corruption.  We 
r>ay  believe  there  were  others  among  the 


The  Resurrection  of  Christ.        145 

many  miracles  of  healing  which  he 
wrought,  as  well  as  among  the  saints  who 
arose  at  the  time  of  his  crucifixion.  All 
these  were  healed  oy  a  wor  1.  Each  case 
was  an  absolute  impossibility  to  any  one 
else,  but  easy  to  him  who  tad  infinite 
power. 

We  believe,  if  we  are  God's  children,  that 
there  is  for  us  a  future  life  of  beauty  and 
303/  and  holiness.  Wd  believe  that  if  the 
divine  life  has  been  implanted  in  us,  it  will 
live  on  forever,  and  will  come  into  the  full- 
rc-ss  and  glory  of  the  resurrected  life,  by 
the  divine  grace  that  comes  to  us  in  Jesus 
Christ.  We  believe  this  because  we  know 
that  he  arose  from  the  dead,  and  that  he 
ascended  into  glory,  and  that  he  has  prom- 
ised that  where  he  is  there  his  loved  ones 
also  shall  be.  In  this  hope  we  endure  and 
rejoice. 

Each  Sabbath  day  impresses  on  our 
minds  the  truth  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
Each  Easter  is  an  anniversary  of  this  au- 
gust event.  It  comes  at  the  time  when 
leaves  and  flowers  and  grass  and  buds  are 
awaking  after  the  winter's  sleep.  But 
Easter  is  more  than  a  matter  of  poetry  and 
nature.  It  is  a  time  of  great  Joy  and 
beauty  and  hope  in  the  natural  world,  but 
the  spring  comes  even  to  those  who  know 


146         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

not  Christ.  The  great  fact  of  Easter  is 
that  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  and 
that  he  has  power  to  save  and  to  bring 
with  him  into  the  everlasting  life  all  those 
who  love  and  trust  him. 


CHRIST  EXALTED. 

Christ's  resurrection  from  the  dead  was 
the  first  element  in  his  exaltation,  or  re- 
sumption of  the  eternal  glory  which  he  had 
with  the  Father.  In  the  resurrection  he 
was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power.  He  had  power  to  lay  down  his 
life  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  now  it  was 
proved  that  he  had  power  to  take  it  up 
again.  His  death  was  not  a  triumph  for 
his  enemies.  He  was  not  merely  an  amia- 
ble but  mistaken  friend  of  sinners,  nor  a 
martyr  to  lofty  theories  and  convictions. 
His  resurrection  was  the  vindication  of 
his  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  who  died 
to  give  life  to  those  who  should  believe  on 
his  name. 

From  this  point  everything  was  on  the 
re-ascending  scale.  For  forty  days  he  re- 
mained upon  earth,  deepening,  by  many  in- 
terviews with  his  disciples,  their  confidence 
in  and  their  love  and  reverence  for  him 
as  their  risen  Lord.  Such  were  his  reve- 
lations of  himself  to  them  and  such  his 
interviews  and  assuring  communications, 
that  they  never  could  doubt  that  Christ 
(  147  ) 


148         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

whom  they  had  followed,  and  whose  death 
they  had  witnessed,  was  indeed  risen  from 
the  dead. 

Christ's  ascension  at  the  end  of  the  forty 
days  was  another  element  in  his  exalta- 
tion. He  had  simply  tabernacled  in  the 
flesh  for  a  time  on  earth,  and  now  he 
ascends  to  his  native  home  in  the  skies. 
While  the  eyes  of  his  disciples  were  upon 
him,  he  was  taken  up  and  disappeared  in 
the  opened  heavens,  and  as  they  lingered, 
still  watching  with  longing  eyes,  the  angels 
appeared  to  them  and  announced  that  he 
would  in  like  manner  come  again.  When 
he  is  to  come  again  we  know  not,  but  we 
do  know  that  he  has  gone  to  his  home  in 
heaven,  there  to  prepare  a  place  for  his 
people  and  there  to  welcome  them  into 
his  own  holy  presence,  that  where  he  is 
they  may  be  also.  Where  heaven  is  we  do 
not  know,  but  we  do  know  that  it  is  where 
Christ  is,  and  that  he  has  been  gathering 
his  people  there  to  be  with  him.  Where 
Christ  and  his  loved  ones  Are  is  the  heaven 
toward  which  our  hearts  turn  in  prayerful 
longing  and  joyous  anticipation. 

Christ's  heavenly  life  is  still  another  ele- 
ment in  his  exaltation.  He  has  entered 
into  heaven  itself  now  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  God  for  us.   Having  offered  his 


Christ  Exalted.  149 

one  sacrifice  for  sin  forever,  he  sat  down 
on  the  right  hand  of  God.  In  that  place 
of  highest  honor  and  distinction  he  is  our 
Prophet,  whose  words  are  being  fulfilled 
on  earth  for  the  instruction  and  edifica- 
tion of  his  people;  he  is  our  Priest  who 
was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many 
and  whose  death  and  sufferings  his  people 
on  earth  are  to  commemorate  until  he 
comes  again;  he  is  our  King,  there  execut- 
ing his  high  office  in  subduing  us  to  him- 
self, in  ruling  and  defending  us,  and  in  re- 
straining and  conquering  all  his  and  our 
enemies.  He  is  our  living  and  compas- 
sionate Savior,  our  sympathizing  friend  and 
helper,  the  prevailing  advocate  for  all  the 
sinful  ones  who  come  repentantly,  plead- 
ing the  merits  of  his  great  name.  There 
in  his  exalted  life  "he  is  before  all  things 
and  by  him  all  things  consist";  "for  it 
pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all 
fullness  dwell." 

But  Christ  is  to  judge  the  world  at  the 
last  day.  He  is  to  be  the  Judge  of  the 
living  and  the  dead.  We  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  The 
hands  that  were  nailed  to  the  cross  of 
Calvary  now  hold  the  sceptre  of  universal 
dominion,  and  the  voice  that  once  said: 
"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  are  weary  and 


150         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest," 
will  on  that  day  speak  the  words  of  wel- 
come into  the  eternal  joy  of  heaven,  or  will 
pronounce  the  final  doom  of  the  unrepent- 
ant that  shall  be  for  their  banishment  into 
everlasting  perdition.  Judgment  is  bo  ter- 
tible  that  it  has  been  committed  to  the 
hands  of  infinite  love.  The  love  and  grace 
of  the  Lamb  of  God  are  tender  and  saving, 
but  those  who  trample  upon  them  will 
some  day  cry  to  the  rocks  and  the  moun- 
tains to  fall  upon  them  and  hide  them  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.  Let  us  love  and 
follow  him,  that  we  may  meet  him  with 
gladness  and  enter  into  the  eternal  joy 
of  our  Lord. 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

Whenever  we  repeat  the  Apostles'  Creed 
we  say,  "I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
In  that  brief  statement  of  Christian  faith 
there  is  no  explanation  or  specification  of 
what  we  believe  in  reference  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  the  words  involve  faith  in  his 
existence  and  in  his  good  and  gracious 
work  for  and  within  us.  The  Scriptures 
have  much  to  say  of  his  person  and  work, 
and  it  is  for  us  to  be  very  reverent  and 
worshipful  before  him,  welcoming  his  pres- 
ence and  power  in  our  hearts  and  lives,  and 
rendering  implicit  obedience  to  his  in- 
structions and  guidance  as  they  come  to  us 
in  his  Word  and  his  providential  dealings. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  third  person  in  the 
Trinity,  the  same  in  substance  with,  and 
equal  in  power  and  glory  to,  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  possessing  the  same  attributes 
and  equally  interested  with  them  in  the 
works  of  Providence  and  Redemption.  He 
is  the  Person  through  whom  life  is  com- 
municated in  the  kingdoms  of  Nature  and 
of  Grace.  He  moved  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters  in  Creation's  dawn  to  bring  life 
(151) 


152         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

and  order  out  of  chaos,  and  he  moved  upon 
the  minds  of  holy  men,  so  that  they  spoke 
and  wrote  the  Words  of  God  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  Prophets  and  Apostles  were  in- 
spired by  him  to  write  the  Word  of  God, 
and  he  has  providentially  preserved  it  in 
its  purity,  so  that  it  has  come  down  to 
us  to-day  as  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
we  are  to  search  for  God's  message  to  our 
own  souls.  In  the  study  of  this  sacred 
volume  we  may  well  pray  for  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  who  first  inspired 
it,  so  that  "in  his  light  we  may  see  light." 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  efficient  source 
of  spiritual  life  in  each  believer.  He  con- 
victs men  of  sin,  leads  them  to  repentance, 
gives  to  them  the  new  birth  from  on  high, 
savingly  unites  them  to  Jesus  Christ,  gives 
to  them  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  adoption, 
and  awakens  within  them  the  glad  assur- 
ance that  they  are  the  saved  and  accepted 
children  of  God. 

The  Holy  Spirit  dwells  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people,  making  them  to  live  ifi  vital 
union  with  Jesus  Christ  and  binding  them 
together  in  his  great  Body,  the  Church,  so 
that  each  spiritual  member  of  the  Church 
is,  through  the  Spirit,  one  with  Christ,  the 
Head.  He  directs  the  life  and  work  of  the 
Church,  calling  and  anointing  his  ministers 


The  Holy  Spirit.  153 

and  other  ofGcers  for  their  sacred  duties, 
imparting  needed  grace  to  his  people,  giv- 
ing efficacy  to  his  Word,  protecting  and  en- 
larging his  Church,  superintending  it  in 
its  evangelistic  and  missionary  operations, 
and  bringing  on  the  glorious  consummation 
when  his  Church  shall  fill  the  whole  earth 
and  his  people,  at  last,  be  brought  Into 
eternal  holiness  and  happiness  in  heaven. 

This  is  known  as  the  Dispensation  of  the 
Spirit.  There  has  never  been  a  time  in 
the  history  of  the  earth  or  the  Church 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  was  net  active  in 
the  world  as  the  source  of  all  life  and  good- 
ness, but  he  has  been  especially  powerful 
since  he  was  "roured  out"  on  Pentecost 
according  to  the  covenant  of  Christ  and 
"the  promise  of  the  Father."  We  are  to 
honor  him  in  every  way  as  the  Bource  of  all 
spiritual  grace  and  graces,  but  we  are  to 
remember  that  his  great  work  in  the  Gos- 
pel was  to  be  that  of  taking  of  Jesus  and 
showing  him  to  us.  So  we  honor  the  Holy 
Spirit  most  when,  in  dependence  upon  him, 
we  honor  Jesus  Christ  most,  and  hold  him 
up  as  the  only  Savior  of  sinful  men. 

As  the  Holy  Spirit  regenerates  he  also 
sanctifies.  Each  advance  in  the  believer's 
life  is  to  be  by  his  grace  and  under  his 
Cll) 


154        The  Foursquare  Christian,. 

guidance.  He  is  the  Paraclete,  or  Com- 
forter, of  Christ's  Church  and  people.  He 
is  the  Superintendent,  as  we  may  say,  of 
present  Christian  life  and  work,  carrying 
all  on  to  completion.  He  seals  believers 
unto  the  day  of  redemption.  He  may  be 
grieved,  but,  although  we  read  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  and  even  of  the  Lamb,  we  do  not 
read  of  the  wrath  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  How 
shameful  to  do  despite  to  his  work!  How 
careful  should  we  be  not  to  quench  his 
operations  in  our  hearts  when  he  would 
lead  us  on  to  large  usefulness  in  speaking 
and  working  for  his  cause!  Day  by  day 
let  us  open  our  hearts  and  our  lives  to 
him,  that  we  may  know  what  it  is  to  pray 
in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  be  filled  with  all 
the  fullness  of  God. 


THE  CHURCH. 

The  whole  number  of  the  saved  who  final- 
ly are  to  be  gathered  together  in  heaven 
constitute  the  Church  of  God,  which  he 
hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  To  be 
a  believing  child  of  God  is  to  be  one  of  this 
number,  a  real  member  of  this  great 
church.  Because  it  can  not  be  thoroughly 
seen  by  mortal  vision  we  call  it  the  "In- 
visible Church."  It  is  the  Church  as  God 
sees  it.  Part  of  its  membership  are  al- 
ready in  heaven;  some  are  on  earth.  "Part 
of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood,  and  part 
are  crossing  now."  They  come  from  every 
land  and  tribe  and  tongue  and  nation,  but 
they  will  all  be  alike  in  being  able  to  sing 
the  song  of  praise:  "Unto  him  who  hath 
loved  us  and  hath  washed  us  in  his  own 
precious  blood.*' 

The  Church  as  it  exists  on  earth  consists 
of  all  those  who  profess  the  true  religion, 
together  witli  their  children.  It  is  not  con- 
fined to  any  one  of  the  various  bodies  who 
profess  adherence  to  Jesus,  and  who  are 
-engaged  in  proclaiming  his  Gosepl.  These 
exist  with  more  or  less  purity.  Some  hold 
(155) 


156         The  Foursquare  Christian, 

the  truth  with  great  steadfastness  and 
purity  of  doctrine  and  life.  Others  are  so 
impure  as  scarcely  to  merit  the  name  of 
churches  of  Christ.  Nevertheless,  the  Lord 
knoweth  them  that  are  his,  and  each  per- 
son who  believes  in  Christ  should  be  a 
member  of  his  visible  church  here  on 
earth. 

To  his  Church  Christ  has  given  an  or- 
ganization, as  we  may  learn  from  the  New 
Testament,  with  the  ministry  and  other 
officers,  sacraments  and  other  ordinances, 
and  has  directed  that  his  "Word  shall  be 
preached  and  his  work  carried  on,  to  the 
end  that  sinners  may  be  saved  and  Chris- 
tians may  be  edified,  promising  his  pres- 
ence and  Spirit  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 
The  Church  then  has  an  infinitely  im- 
portant place  and  mission,  and  is  not  to 
be  considered  as  one  of,  or  as  on  the  same 
plane  with,  the  human  organizations  which, 
however  excellent  and  beneficent,  may  at 
any  time  have  existence. 

God  has  always  had  a  church  upon  earth, 
and  will  preserve  it,  in  spite  of  the  errors 
and  other  impurities  that  may  arise  from 
within,  and  the  persecutions  that  may  as- 
sail it  from  without.  It  is  the  duty  of  all 
who  love  Christ  not  only  to  be  members  of 
his  church,  but  to  use  all  efforts  to  ad- 


The  Church.  157 


vance  its  interests,  to  hold  and  teach  the 
truth  in  its  purity,  to  stand  fast  in  sin- 
cerity of  heart  and  life,  and  to  guard  it 
against  all  enemies  who,  from  within  or 
without,  shall  rise  up  against  It. 

We  are  not  to  consider  as  a  part  of  the 
true  Church  every  organization  that  ap- 
propriates to  itself  the  name  of  church. 
Some  of  these  bodies  are  mere  travesties 
or  counterfeits,  and  from  their  grossness 
of  life  and  repudiation  of  Christian  doc- 
trine, are  to  be  opposed  as  injurious  and 
misleading,  and  we  are  to  do  what  lies  In 
our  power  to  deliver  from  them  those  who 
have  been  or  who  are  in  danger  of  heing 
led  into   their  bounds. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  Head 
of  the  Church,  The  claims  of  the  Pope  of 
Rome  10  be  the  Head  of  the  Church  are 
utterly  false,  and  the  assumption  of  this, 
oi  of  any  other  body,  to  be  the  only  true 
church  have  no  foundation  whatever.  The 
Presbyterian  form  of  government  is  most 
nearly  of  all  others  conformed  to  the  model 
found  in  the  New  Testament;  its  doctrine 
is  Scriptural,  its  historic  record  is  vener- 
able, and  its  present  life  is  that  of  loyal 
obedience  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  while  it  has 
humble  confidence  that  it  is  a  part  of  the 
])ody  of  Christ  on  earth  it  would  repudiate 


158         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

with  vehemence  any  claim  that  there  are 
not  other  bodies  that  have  a  similar  right 
to  be  so  considered. 

The  true  Christian  will  seek  for  a  place 
in  the  church,  will  be  faithful  in  attendance 
upon  its  services,  will  bring  up  his  chil- 
dren in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,  and  will  give  of  his  money,  his  time, 
his  influence  and  his  prayers  for  the 
strengthening  and  upbuilding  of  the  cause 
of  Christ  on  earth. 


FAITH  AND  SALVATION. 

The  Gospel  is  God's  offer  of  life  to  sin- 
ners. It  comes  in  the  name  of  Christ  and 
makes  a  free  offer  of  the  most  important 
thing  that  any  human  being  can  possibly 
ask  or  accept.  It  tells  of  God's  willing- 
ness to  pardon  sin  and  to  receive  the  sin- 
ner as  his  own  child,  entitled  to  the  gifts 
of  his  grace  here  on  earth  and  to  a  happy 
and  holy  immortality  in  heaven.  It  would 
seem  that  every  person  in  the  world  would 
be  swift  to  claim  these  offered  blessings. 

If  the  Gospel  were  an  offer  of  material 
wealth,  every  individual  within  sound  of 
it  would  claim  its  benefits  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  If  one  million  dollars,  or  one 
thousaud,  were  proffered,  every  one  able 
to  walk  and  talk  would  come  and  claim 
ft  forthwith.  If  the  gift  were  one  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  or  one  acre,  each  per- 
son within  hearing  would  oe  the  owner  of 
land  before  the  setting  of  the  sun.  But 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,  imperishable 
riches  and  a  title  to  the  inheritance  in- 
corruptible, is  worth  infinitely  more  than 
any  earthly  possessions,  and  yet,  in  spite 
( 159  ) 


160         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

oi  this,  multitudes  stay  a'way  and  think 
they  would  be  self-sacrificing  and  bidding 
adieu  to  all  they  hold  dear  should  they  give 
themselves  to  Christ. 

If  the  Gospel  were  an  offer  of  physical 
health,  the  race  would  be  on  its  knees  for 
it.  Even  the  false  and  fanciful  forms  of 
religion  that  make  claims  to  heal  the  body 
are  sought  after  by  multitudes  that  do  not 
care  for  healing  of  the  soul.  Physical 
health  is  greatly  desired,  especially  after  it 
has  been  lost,  and  if  the  Gospel  offered 
healing  to  the  bodies  of  men  as  freely  as 
it  does  to  their  souls,  there  would  be  none 
to  refuse  it.  At  the  best,  howe\?er,  the 
body  must  soon  crumble  to  the  grave  while 
the  soul  shall  live  on  forever.  How  in- 
finitely important  is  its  welfare! 

If  the  Gospel  were  an  offer  of  earthly 
office  or  position,  there  would  be  a  mad 
rush  to  seek  and  claim  its  benefits  on  tha 
part  of  multitudes,  many  of  whom  seem 
to  care  nothing  for  the  infinite  honor  that 
is  offered  to  them  by  Christ.  Many  are  the 
expressions  used  in  the  Word  of  God  to 
describe  the  honor  that  is  pressed  upon  us 
for  our  acceptance.  To  be  the  sons  of 
of  God  is  to  be  princes,  and  we  are  even 
called  "kings  and    priests  unto  God    for- 


Faith  and  Salvation.  161 

ever."  Thrones,  crowns  and  kingdoms  are 
spoken  of  as  the  future  possessions  of  the 
glorified.  Wo  are  to  be  heirs  of  God  and 
joint  heirs  with  Christ,  and  our  inheritance 
is  to  be  grand  and  glorious.  That  there 
should  be  a  moment's  hesitation  in  seek- 
ing it,  on  the  part  of  any  one,  is  something 
that  bewilders  us  as  we  contemplate  such 
folly. 

Jesus  Christ  comes  with  his  offer  of 
sialvation  to  men  and  women,  one  by  one, 
as  he  came,  when  on  earth,  to  the  sinful 
and  distressed.  He  asks  us  each  one  to 
come  to  him,  to  repent,  to  believe,  to  be 
saved.  In  his  spiritual  eyes,  sinful  and 
worldly  and  impure  and  unbelieving  souls 
are  more  distorted  and  pitiable  than  the 
physically  sick  and  crippled.  If  we  looked 
with  his  eyes,  we  would  see  sin  as  more 
distressing  and  lamentable  than  any  form 
of  sickness  or  deformity. 

This  is  the  day  of  salvation.  Jesus  Christ 
is  passing  by.  Thousands  and  hundreds  of 
thousands,  all  over  the  world,  are  turning 
to  him  and  finding  him  mighty  to  save. 
Every  one  who  is  really  saved  comes  to  see 
that  he  is  a  miracle  of  God's  grace  and 
healing.  He  wishes  to  see  others  saved. 
He  prays  for  them,    jle  pleads  with  them. 


162         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

He  would .  bring  them  to  Christ.  But 
Jesus  himself  is  seeking  for  souls  with  a 
love  that  will  not  forget  or  grow  cold.  He 
is  calling  and  pleading  with  men  and  offer- 
ing them  life  and  salvation.  "Will  thou  be 
made  whole?"  He  offers  the  best  thing  in 
life,  freely  and  in  the  most  loving  and 
gracious  way.  Each  soul  should  accept 
him  in  simple  faith,  lovingly,  trustfully,  at 
once  and  forever. 


PERSEVERANCE. 

As  one  of  the  great  doctrines  of  grace 
found  in  the  Word  of  God  and  formulated 
in  the  great  systems  ot  truth  and  doctrine 
we  often  speak  of  the  "Perseverance  of  the 
Saints."  By  this  we  mean  that  those  who 
are  brought  savingly  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  being  accepted  foi  Christ's  sake  and 
regenerated  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit, 
''can  neither  totally  nor  finally  fall  away 
from  the  state  of  grace,  but  shall  certainly 
persevere  therein  to  the  end,  and  be  eter- 
nally saved." 

This  is  a  most  strong  and  comforting 
doctrine,  and  long  has  been  known  as  one 
of  the  "Five  Points  of  Calvinism."  It  adds 
stability  to  the  conception  and  to  the  ex- 
perience of  Christian  life  to  know  that  one 
is  in  such  living  covenant  relations  with 
God  that  there  is  the  certainty  of  con- 
tinuing safe  through  time  and  through 
eternity.  He  who  is  thus  assured  stands 
upon  a  rock.  He  can  not  be  moved.  All 
that  is  best  has  already  come  into  his  pos- 
session. Other  things  may  come  and  go 
but  this,  the  best  of  all,  the  knowledge  that 
(163) 


164         The   Foursquare   Christian. 

ht  is  safe  in  God  forever,  abides.  He  may 
be  tried  and  tempted,  may  have  sorrows 
and  troubles  and  struggles,  but  he  is  se- 
cure, and  his  heart  abides  in  peace. 

Such  a  conception  oi'  Christian  life  is  im- 
measurably superior  to  any  thought  of  it 
which  considers  as  possible  that  a  person 
may  be  safe  to-day  and  lost  to-morrow; 
that  one  may  know  of  God  to-day  as  cove- 
nant-keeping and  to-morrow  as  forgetful  of 
his  pledges  to  his  people.  He  who  is  sure 
that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  and  that  he  will 
so  continue  whatever  may  assail  him,  is 
lifted  up  above  all  the  temporal  and 
passing  ills  of  life.  He  draws  his  comfort 
not  from  himself,  or  his  own  resolutions 
or  feelings  or  experiences,  but  from  the  in- 
finite source  of  all  strength  and  goodness. 
He  is  not  greatly  affected  by  the  passing 
ijls  and  trials  of  life.  He  is  secure  in  God> 
as  the  one  who  rides  on  the  mighty 
steamer  is  secure  from  the  winds  and 
waves  that  howl  about  him. 

But  it  is  not  simply  a  comfort,  and  su- 
perior to  other  views  in  its  effect  upon  the 
mind  and  heart  of  the  believer.  It  is  the 
truth  of  God.  It  is  not  a  mere  bit  of  logic 
and  philosophy  and  ihetoric  It  is  not  a 
mere  matter  of  feeling  secure  and  happy. 
It  is  a  part  of  God's  own  revelation  of  his 


Perseverance.  165 


grace  toward  his  people.  Christ  says  of 
his  flock;  "They  shall  never  perish,  neither 
shall  any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand." 
Of  all  that  Christ  has  he  loses  none.  Not 
one  of  his  loved  ones  is  to  perish.  Some  go 
cut  and  go  away  from  him,  but  it  is  be- 
cause they  are  not  of  him,  and  thus  they 
make  it  manifest  that  they  are  not  his. 
When  people  perish  it  is  because  they  have 
no  interest  in  Christ  and  never  had.  For 
they  who  are  really  saved  €ndure  to  the 
end.  They  who  are  really  born  again  have 
the  life  of  God  within,  and  they  can  not 
fall  and  perish  because  they  are  born  of 
God.  They  are  in  covenant  with  God  and 
they  can  not  perish,  because  his  promise 
never  can  be  broken. 

God  is  not  only  one  who  seeks  and  saves, 
but  one  who  keeps.  The  keeping  power  of 
God  Is  as  precious  to  us  as  is  his  saving 
power.  The  perseverance  of  the  Faints  is 
only  another  word  for  the  perseverance  of 
God.  We  believe  in  God  and  we  trust  him 
If  we  accept  his  salvation,  we  accept  him 
as  the  one  who  saves  us  and  who  keeps  us, 
and  because  he  lives  we  shall  live  also. 
The  security  of  the  believer  is  not  simply 
in  the  strength  of  his  renewed  will  and  af- 
fections with  which  he  grasps  the  hand  of 
God  in  a  pure  love  and  a  holy  resolution, 


166         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

but  in  the  strength  of  the  Loid  who  claspi 
his  hand  and  holds  him  in  a  mighty,  loving 
grasp  that  will  never  unfasten  to  let  him 
go.  Here  is  his  safety.  The  Lord  is  his 
keeper  and  he  keeps  him  to  the  end 


IMMORTALITY   AND    HEAVEN. 

Wliat  a  marvelous  message  of  life  and 
comfort  and  power  comes  to  us  in  the  fact 
of  Christ's  resurrection.  As  we  regard  it 
with  spiritual  attention  it  almost  over- 
whelms our  senses  with  its  majesty  and 
glory.  It  has  a  most  sublime  significancy. 
It  rises  with  august  grandeur.  TTie  very 
gates  of  paradise  open  before  us.  A  breath 
comes  to  our  inner  life  from  the  very  gar- 
dens of  God. 

Does  death  end  all?  Is  the  grave  the 
end?  Is  the  coffin  to  be  the  narrow  room 
to  contain  all  that  is  to  remain?  Human 
knowledge  can  not  give  assurance  as  to 
these  things.  We  wish  and  long  for  the 
immortal  life.  We  pray  and  imagine  and 
dream.  Is  it  all  poetry?  Is  it  all  an  un- 
founded and  imagined  hope?  Is  there  any- 
thing beyond  the  curtain  that  drops  in 
its  awful,  sable  blackness,  when  comes  the 
parting  at  the  hour  of  death?  We  have 
seen  no  one;  we  have  heard  no  one;  we 
have  communicated  with  no  one,  who  has 
gone  from  us  into  the  shadows  of  death. 
( 167  ) 


168         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

So  far  as  our  own  personal  knowledge  Is 
concerned,  we  have  none. 

But  Life  and  Immortality  are  brought  to 
light  in  the  Gospel.  God  has  revealed  to 
us  that  of  which  we  could  know  nothing 
were  it  not  for  his  Word.  He  has  made 
us  sure  that  there  is  another  life  beyond 
this;  or,  rather,  that  this  life  goes  right 
on,  without  interruption,  through  the 
grave.  Death  ends  only  the  body.  The 
grave  becomes  Its  receptacle,  but  the  spirit 
that  has  found  life  and  salvation  through 
faith  in  Jesus  the  Savior,  goes  right  on 
and  up  to  be  forever  with  the  Lord.  This 
assurance  is  given,  with  more  or  less  full- 
ness, in  nearly  every  book  of  the  Bible. 
It  is  found  with  clearness  especially  in  the 
New  Testament.  We  see  Moses  and  Elias 
coming  back  to  earth  to  talk  with  Christ 
of  his  atoning  death.  We  see  the  heavens 
opened  to  the  vision  of  John  the  beloved 
disciple,  and  the  other  world  becomes  as 
real  to  us  as  the  one  where  we  dwell.  For 
this  we  take  his  word  as  one  who  witnesses 
to  us  from  God. 

But  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  here 
on  earth  and  walked  for  forty  days  in  the 
sight  of  men.  This  is  actual  history.  If 
it  be  not  history,  there  is  nothing  in  all 


Immortality   and  Heaven.  169 

that  is  known  as  history  that  may  be  de- 
pended on.  If  we  are  not  sure  that  Jesus 
rose  from  the  dead,  we  are  not  certain 
that  Charlemagne  ruled,  or  that  Cromwell 
lived,  or  that  Milton  wrote.  But  we  are 
sure.  We  have  the  proof  of  indubitable 
testimony.  It  is  not  the  record  of  a  vision 
or  aeries  of  visions.  It  is  the  record  oi 
what  men  and  women  by  scores  and  hun- 
dreds saw  and  heard.  Jesus  arose  and 
lived  again  among  men.  By  tliis  he  proves 
his  power  over  death  and  the  grave.  And 
he  says  that  this  same  power  is  to  be  ex- 
erted in  favor  of  those  who  trust  and  love 
him.  His  miracles  and  his  own  rising 
from  the  dead  assure  us  that  he  is  able 
to  do  for  us  all  that  he  ever  promised, 
and  all  that  we  ever  long  for. 

Christ's  rising  from  the  dead  is  more 
than  this.  It  is  the  absolute  assurance 
that  he  is  able  to  save  us  to  the  uttermost, 
through  the  justifying  grace  of  his  atoning 
death.  He  died  for  us  to  atone  for  our 
sins.  He  was  not  merely  a  martyr.  He 
was  not  overwhelmed  and  beaten  down  in 
discharge  of  duty  or  in  loving  devotion 
to  his  people.  He  accomplished  our  par- 
don.   He  went  down  into  death  and  the 

(12) 


170         The  Foursqiuire   Christian. 

grave  for  us.  His  rising  from  the  dead  was 
the  victorious  return  from  that  sacrifice  in 
which  he  baffled  forever  the  enemies  of 
our  peace. 

He  arose  from  the  dead  and  he  proved 
that  his  death  was  an  atoning  sacrifice,  and 
not  a  defeat.  He  lives,  and  we  have  a 
Savior  whose  death  was  for  our  salvation. 
He  lives,  and  we  shall  live  also.  The 
grave  becomes  a  gateway  into  glory. 
Death  is  vanquished.  The  victory  belongs 
to  Christ  and  his  people  forever.  Heaven 
lies  just  beyond  the  curiain.  There  is 
Christ,  and  there  are  the  many  mansions 
he  has  gone  to  prepare,  and  there  his  peo- 
ple are  being  gathered  one  by  one.  Thanks 
to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory!  Be- 
cause Christ  lives,  and  where  he  lives,  we 
shall  live  for  evermore. 

The  Christian  life  is  one  of  hope  for  the 
future.  We  look  forward  with  glad  antici- 
pations. We  are  freed  from  all  uneasi- 
ness. We  are  drawing  near  to  the  other 
world,  not  as  those  who  wait  for  the  night 
to  come  and  end  the  day,  but  as  those  who 
see  the  morning  coming  to  end  the  night 
Doubt  is  vanquished.  Darkness  is  ban- 
ished. The  eternal  morning  is  coming. 
We  are  victors,    and    more  than    victors, 


Immortality  and  Heaven.         171 

through  him  hath  gotten  the  perfect  vic- 
tory over  everything  we  dread. 

We  are  assured  in  the  Word  of  God  that, 
if  we  are  Christ's,  we  are  already  living 
the  lives  of  the  risen.  We  do  not  wait  for 
the  Judgment  Day  in  order  to  be  vindi- 
cated, for  we  are  already  pardoned  and 
saved.  We  do  not  wait  for  heaven  in  order 
to  come  into  peace  and  assurance.  We  are 
already  risen.  We  have  had  spiritual  res- 
urrection. We  are  free  from  the  death  of 
sin.  We  are  God's  risen  children.  We  love 
him,  and  trust  him,  and  hope  in  him,  and 
serve  him.  We  breathe  the  air  of  a  per- 
petual Easter  and  joy  in  the  abiding  glad- 
ness of  a  life  that  is  for  evermore  to  be  hid 
with  Christ  in  God. 


CHRISTIAN  SERVICE. 


"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy    *    *    strength/' — Mark 

xii.  so. 

•  «    • 

"I   delight   to    do    thy   will,    0    my 

God/'— Psalm  xl  8. 

•  •    • 

"Be  ye  doers  of  the  word  and  not 

hearers  only/' — lames  i.   22. 

•  •   * 

"Whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him 
unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house 
upon  a  rock/' — Matt.  vii.  24. 


CHRISTIAN  MORALITY. 

The  true  Christian  makes  it  the  studious 
effort  of  his  life  to  do  what  is  right.  He 
tries  not  only  to  avoid  doing  what  is 
wrong,  but  to  do,  positively,  the  things  that 
are  right  and  good.  Thus  his  life  is  use- 
ful, glorifying  God  and  blessing  his  fellow 
men.  He  leads  what  is  known  and  recog- 
nized not  only  as  a  consistent  life,  but  a 
life  of  Christian  service.  A  contrary  course 
would  give  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord  to  blaspheme.  The  good  and  consis- 
tent life  adorns  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Savior. 

The  standard  by  which  his  life  is  regu- 
lated is  the  perfect  law  of  God.  The  Jew- 
ish standard  of  weights  and  measures  was 
kept  in  the  Temple.  TTie  one  perfect  law 
of  life  and  morals  for  our  continual  guid- 
ance is  found  in  the  changeless  Word  of 
God.  If  anything  in  daily  life  agrees  not 
with  this  Word,  it  is  because  there  is  no 
light  in  it.  God's  law  is  the  guide.  It  tells 
us  what  is  right  and  good,  and  what  God 
expects  and  has  a  right  to  expect  from  us. 
(173) 


174         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

Men  have  shown  themselves,  in  their  sin- 
ful state,  not  able  to  keep  this  law.  It  has 
condemned  them  by  showing  up  their  im- 
perfections. The  sinful  life  is  an  immoral 
life.  It  is  unspiritual  and  is  a  departure 
from  the  will  of  God. 

Gospel  grace  comes,  however,  to  enable 
men  to  obey  God's  will  and  to  do  right,  and 
where  it  is  accepted  and  men  walk  humbly 
before  God,  they  are  able,  by  the  divine 
grace,  to  live  in  a  way  that  glorifies  God. 
This  is  Christian  morality.  It  trusts  in 
Christ.  It  accepts  the  indwelling  and  gra- 
cious guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  hon- 
ors and  magnifies  the  law  of  God.  It  de- 
lights to  do  the  will  of  God  and  lives  with 
this  as  its  abiding  purpose. 

It  will  be  clearly  seen  that  Christian 
morality  is  very  different  from  that  atti- 
tude so  often  taken  by  worldly  men  when 
they  say:  "I  believe  in  living  a  moral  life, 
in  doing  right  and  in  doing  good,  but  I  do 
not  feel  called  on  to  be  religious  or  to  be 
associated  with  the  Church."  This  is  a  re- 
jection of  the  counsel  and  commandments 
of  God.  It  is  self-righteousness.  The 
standard  set  up  by  God  is  abandoned,  a 
human  rule  of  life  is  accepted,  and  there 
is  no  certainty  as  to  what  such  a  person 


Christian  Moralitv.  175 

may  call  right  or  wrong  at  any  time,  nor 
is  there  any  assurance  that  he  will  do  even 
what  he  thinks  to  be  right.  In  order  to  a 
good  life  we  need  to  accept  God's  inflexible 
standard;  we  need  a  nature  made  to  be  in 
harmony  with  God  by  regeneration,  and  we 
need  the  continual  constraining  grace  of 
God  in  our  hearts.  Even  at  the  best  God's 
people  do  not  lead  perfect  lives.  In  an  ex- 
ceedingly dangerous  condition,  then,  is  the 
one  who  does  not,  and  will  not,  accept 
God's  helping  hand. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  the  every-day  life 
of  every  irreligious  man  is  gros?;ly  im- 
moral, nor  that  every  professed  Christian 
lives  in  perfect  consistency,  unblemished 
by  any  imperfections  or  deviations  from 
the  standard  laid  down  in  God's  law.  But 
we  are  bound  to  acknowledge,  according  to 
the  inspired  teaching  of  the  apostle,  that 
those  persons  are  very  far  astray  who  go 
about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness, 
and  who  have  not  submitted  themselves  to 
the  righteousness  of  God.  The  attainments 
of  the  truest  and  purest  Christian  are  In 
his  own  estimation  only  as  "filthy  rags" 
compared  with  "the  robe  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness" in  which  he  seeks  to  be  arrayed, 
but,  if  this  is  so,  the  best  morality  of  the 


176  The   Foursquare   Christian. 

Christless  soul  must  be  worse  Uian  this  in 
the  clear  vision  of  God. 

The  true  Christian  will  often  read  and 
will  be  guided  by  the  spirit  that  is  ex- 
pressed so  clearly  in  the  epistle  of  James. 
He  will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  Christian 
Experience,  however  pleasing,  unless  he  is 
led  into  the  works  which  prove  practically 
that  he  is  a  child  of  God.  He  will  not  rest 
on  the  fact  that  he  has  accepted  the  atti- 
tude of  Christian  "Worship  in  reference  to 
God  in  his  Church  and  holy  ordinances  un- 
less he  is  also  disposed  to  show  the  fruits 
of  righteousness  in  his  life.  He  will  not 
pride  himself  upon  the  orthodoxy  of  his 
Christian  Faith  unless  he  is  willing  to  have 
also  an  orthodoxy  of  life  and  Christian 
Service,  without  which  the  other,  being 
alone,  is  dead.  But  he  will  strive,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  for  that  consistent  obedience 
or  morality  which  will  manifest  that  he 
loves  God  with  heart,  soul,  mind  and 
strength,  in  the  ways  of  experience,  wor- 
ship, faith  and  service.  Thus  will  he  live 
as  a  Christian,  not  as  a  worldling;  not  a 
one-sided  life,  but  the  life  of  the  four- 
square Christian. 


GLORIFYING   GOD. 

In  order  to  glorify  God  one  must  be  and 
must  do  what  God  designs  ond  desires.  H3 
must  carry  out  God's  purpose  in  his  crea- 
tion. He  must  do  what  God  intends  him 
to  do.  Thus  a  telescope  by  means  of  which 
the  astronomer  sees  the  heavenly  bodies 
adds  glory  to  the  maker  of  the  instrument. 
The  elegant  building  adds  glory  to  the 
architect  and  builder.  No  one  may  add 
glory  to  God,  but  each  one  may  manifest 
some  of  the  glory  that  is  his  and  that  he 
displays  in  all  his  works  of  creation  and 
grace. 

A.  sinner  is  a  sinner  all  the  time,  until 
hp  is  saved.  If  he  is  not  saved,  he  remains 
a  sinner,  and  while  he  so  remains  he  is  a 
sinner  while  he  is  asleep  and  while  he  is 
awake,  while  he  speaks  and  while  he  is 
silent,  while  he  plays  and  while  he  works. 
A  thief  may  not  be  stealing  all  the  time, 
but  he  is  a  thief  all  the  time.  A  liar  may 
not  lie  every  minute,  but  he  is  a  liar  all 
the  time.  A  sinner  may  not  be  doing 
wicked  things  every  minute,  but  he  Is  a 
sinner  all  the  time.  It  is  in  this  sense 
(177) 


178         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

that  the  Bible  says  that  the  plowing  of  the 
wicked  is  sin. 

So,  on  the  other  hand,  and  in  a  corre- 
spondingly high  and  important  sense,  a 
true  Christian  is  a  child  of  God  all  the  time, 
at  night  and  by  day,  at  home  and  abroad, 
at  church  and  in  place  of  week-day  work 
and  duty.  At  all  times  and  in  all  places 
he  is  God's  child.  He  may  not  be  wor- 
shiping all  the  time.  It  is  impossible  for 
him  to  pray  all  the  time,  or  to  read  the 
Bible  or  even  to  think  of  God  and  eternal 
things  all  the  time,  but  he  is  continuously 
a  child  of  God,  and  at  every  moment  and 
in  every  place  he  may  and  should  glorify 
God. 

Every  Christian  should  make  it  the  rule 
of  his  life  to  do  everything  he  does  in  just 
Ihe  way  that  God  wishes  him  to  do  it.  In 
this  way  he  is  himself  kept  in  a  conscien- 
tious and  consecrated  line  of  life,  and  he 
is  showing  to  those  around  him  how  God 
expects  life  to  be  lived.  The  flower  that 
blooms  in  its  fragrant  beauty  reveals  to 
us  some  of  God's  beautiful  thoughts  and  is 
to  us  a  call  to  a  true  and  beautiful  life. 

We  must  never  permit  ourselves  to  think 
that  some  of  our  duties  are  religious  and 
some  of  them  secular.  If  we  are  God's 
children,  they  are  all  religious.    They  may 


Glorifying  Ood.  179 

not  all  be  worship  or  prayer,  but  they  are 
all  religious  if  we  are  trying  to  glorify  God 
in  both  our  bodies  and  our  spirits.  If  we 
are  mere  worldlings,  then  everything  we 
do  is  secular.  We  may  do  some  very  nice 
and  pleasant  and  elegant  things,  but  there 
is  not  one  of  them  in  which  we  are  simply 
and  lovingly  trying  to  please  God.  And 
this  is  essential.  It  is  the  mark  of  a  Chris- 
tian. 

All  honest  men  are  not  Christians,  but 
all  Christian  men  are  honest.  All  truth- 
ful men  are  not  Christians,  but  all  Chris- 
tian men  are  truthful,  and  so  in  the  same 
way  they  are  pure  and  kind  and  upright 
and  in  possession  of  the  graces  without 
which  it  is  not  possible  to  see  and  serve 
God.  If  all  men  were  true-hearted  and 
sincere  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  all  the 
evil  things  would  die  out  of  the  world. 
Wars  would  cease.  Intemperance  would  be 
uo  more.  There  would  be  no  dishonesty  in 
business.  Men  would  work  industriously 
and  joyously.  Overreaching  and  fraud 
would  never  be  seen. 

It  is  our  duty  in  this  world  not  simply 
to  make  money,  winning  wealth  and  fame 
and  power,  for  we  may  fulfill  the  great  ends 
of  life  with  only  a  small  portion  of  Ihese. 
But  it  is  our  duty  to  serve  God,  to  obey 


180         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

his  laws,  to  enter  his  kingdom,  to  live  for 
the  highest  and  holiest  ends,  and  to  win 
those  around  us  to  the  life  of  salvation. 

If  we  know  our  duty  and  do  it  not,  we 
shall  make  a  terrible  failure  of  life.  The 
one  who  is  invited  to  an  interest  in  Christ 
but  fails  to  accept  him,  makes  himself  an 
eternal  castaway.  The  one  who.  being 
saved,  does  not  do  his  whole  duty  in  trying 
to  save  others,  is  guilty  of  a  great  wrong, 
and  he  will  have  a  terrible  charge  to  meet 
TV  hen  he  stands  before  the  bar  of  God. 

A  man  was  proven  guilty  of  manslaughter 
not  long  ago  in  a  court  and  was  sentenced 
to  severe  punishment.  What  had  he  done? 
He  had  stood  and  had  seen  a  fellow-man 
drown  when  he  might  have  saved  his  life. 
T[e  allowed  him  to  perish,  within  personal 
sight  and  reach.  The  man  knew  he  could 
have  saved  him  had  he  tried.  His  con- 
science, unless  it  was  seared,  must  have 
reproved  him  all  the  rest  of  his  life. 

We  are  saved  in  order  to  save  others. 
The  engineer  is  on  the  engine  of  the  ex- 
press train  not  simply  that  he  may  have  a 
ride  from  one  city  to  another,  but  that  he 
may  conduct  the  whole  company  of  pas- 
sengers safely  to  their  destination.  A  phy- 
sician does  not  simply  try  to  preserve  his 
own  health,  but  he  is  depended  on  by  the 


Glorifying  God.  181 

wnole  community  to  save  Ihem  from  the 
power  of  disease,  and  he  will  not  run  even 
when  the  disease  is  a  contagious  fever.  If 
we  are  Christians,  we  must  bring  others 
to  a  knowledge  and  acceptance  of  Christ. 

Many  have  seen  a  picture  of  a  woman  in 
a  stormy  sea  clinging  to  a  cross  by  means 
of  which  she  is  saved  from  the  waves.  But 
there  is  another  picture,  which  we  all  like 
better,  of  a  woman  saved  from  drowning 
because  she  holds  to  a  cross  with  one  hand 
while,  with  the  other  hand,  she  holds  an- 
other woman  and  saves  her.  This  is  the 
way  we  should  all  strive  to  live.  We  are 
saved  in  order  to  save  others.  While  the 
world  is  full  of  those  who  are  perishing 
we  shall  be  held  responsible  if  we  do  not 
what  we  can  to  rescue  them. 

Let  us  show  by  the  very  spirit  and  man- 
ner we  carry  into  our  daily  duties  that  we 
are  animated  by  the  spirit  that  is  from 
above,  and  in  all  honesty  and  gentleness 
and  reasonableness  glorify  our  Father  who 
is  in  heaven. 


FAITH  AND  PRACTICE. 

We  heard,  not  long  ago,  a  very  ill-ad- 
vised remark  frcm  a  speaker  who  thought 
he  was  making  a  practical  and  pious  ut- 
terance. He  said:  "I  love  religion  and 
flowers,  but  I  detest  botany  and  theology." 
The  fact  is  that  ignorance  never  yet  added 
to  one's  capacity  for  real  enjoyment.  He 
might  as  well  have  said:  "I  love  music,  but 
I  do  not  know  one  tune  from  another;  J 
love  paintings,  but  I  can  not  tell  colors 
apart;  I  love  books,  but  I  absolutely  hate 
the  drudgery  of  reading  them."  He  who 
Ft  ally  loves  flowers  will  love  them  all  the 
more  as  he  comes  to  understand  the  sym- 
metry of  their  construction  and  the  laws 
for  their  classification,  entering  thereby 
into  sympathy  with  their  divine  Creator  in 
his  work  as  the  artistic  source  and  or- 
ganizer of  beauty.  He  who  is  really  re- 
ligious may  be  all  the  more  so  as  he 
studies  the  systematic  and  well-ordered 
tody  of  truth  placed  in  the  Word  of  God 
imder  the  inspiring  direction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  God  who  made  the  flowers  loves 
them  better  than  any  human  being  does, 
(182) 


Faith  and  Practice.  183 

aiid  he  who  inspired  the  Scriptures  is  the 
One  who  is  perfectly  holy  and  happy  in  all 
his  infinite  life. 

The  true  child  of  God  is  the  only  one 
who  lives  or  who  can  live  the  Christian 
life.  Only  the  fig  tree  produces  figs.  No 
other  tree  does  or  can  produce  them,  but 
by  the  very  law  of  its  being  it  can  and 
must.  Christian  faith  lies  at  the  very 
heart  and  source  of  Christian  practice.  As 
a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he.  From 
the  secret  sources  of  his  inmost  life  pro- 
ceeds its  outward  expression  in  words  and 
actions.  The  nature  of  the  tree  unfolds 
itself  in  foliage,  blossom  and  fruit,  and  the 
law  of  its  life  v/ill  govern  all  that  it  pro- 
duces. So  the  true  Christian  will  show 
that  he  is  controlled  and  dominated  by  the 
law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life. 

There  may  be  an  external  life  which  Is 
artificial,  as  a  tree  may  be  decked  out  with 
artificial  oJossoms.  The  tree  that  is  so 
decorated  is  readily  detected  by  all  except 
the  very  inexperienced.  The  man  whose 
life  is  that  of  merely  outward  Christian 
form  may  have  a  fair  appearance,  but  he 
can  not  deceive  »jod  who  knows  the  heart. 
Men  may  sometimes  do  very  well  because 
they  have  been  raised  well  and  surrounded 
by    good    influences,  but  unless    one   has 


184         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

"Within  tiis  own  heart  the  vital  principle  o£ 
a  regenerated  life  the  good  that  he  has  in- 
herited or  been  taught  will  become  a  spent 
force,  like  a  cannon  ball  that  loses  its  mo- 
mentum after  it  has  oeen  started  by  a 
force  not  its  own. 

The  way  to  bring  the  whole  world  up  to 
the  plane  of  true  Christian  living  is  to 
bring  it  to  an  acceptance  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  There  will  never  come  a  time 
when  the  life  of  the  world  will  be  right 
until  it  comes  to  know  and  believe  and 
obey  Jesus  Christ.  Make  the  tree  good  in 
order  that  its  fruit  may  be  good.  Make 
the  world's  faith  right  and  its  life  will  be 
right.  To  this  end  Christian  missionaries 
are  going  into  all  lands  carrying  the 
message  of  life  through  the  divine  Re- 
deemer. The  lands  where  there  is  the  best 
l;ke  are  those  in  which  there  is  most  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ.  The  worst  lands,  and 
the  most  dangerous  to  life  and  property, 
are  those  in  which  there  is  the  least  of  the 
Gospel. 

The  stream  can  never  rise  higher  than  its 
fountain.  No  life  can  be  Christ-like  un- 
less the  love  and  life  of  Christ  are  in  the 
heart.  We  must  preach  the  Gospel  if  we 
would  make  use  of  the  agency  devised  by 
God  for  man's  salvation.    We  must  accept 


Faith  and  Practice.  185 

Christ  as  our  own  Savior  if  we  would  be 
saved,  and  unless  we  are  saved  we  can  not 
live  the  life  of  the  children  of  God. 

The  law  of  cause  and  effect  is  in  force 
not  more  in  the  physical  world  than  in 
the  spiritual  world.  If  we  have  only  the 
life  of  the  flesh  in  our  souls,  we  shall  live 
after  the  flesh,  but  if  we  have  the  God- 
given  and  new-born  life  of  the  soul  within 
us,  we  shall  be  able  to  live  as  those  who 
love  and  follow  after  the  thin^  that  are 
above. 


(13) 


EASY   TO  DO   RIGHT. 

WHien  Christ  tells  us  that  his  yoke  is 
easy  and  his  burden  is  light,  he  means 
that  it  is  easy  to  do  right.  A  good  many 
people  do  not  think  it  is.  They  think,  and 
say,  that  it  is  a  terribly  difficult  thing  to 
do  what  one  ought  to  do.  They  think  it 
very  trying  to  have  to  do  one's  duty.  They 
think  sin  is  very  alluring  and  righteousness 
very  severe.  Whenever  people  talk  in  this 
way,  however,  they  are  contradicting 
Christ,  and  are  showing  that  they  have 
neither  the  wisdom  nor  the  knowledge  to 
make  them  safe  guides  or  associates. 

If  one  is  really  sensible  and  well-inform- 
ed, he  knows  it  is  a  great  deal  easier,  in 
the  long  run.  to  do  right  and  secure  the 
results,  than  to  do  wrong  and  reap  the  con- 
sequences. "Oh,"  says  some  one,  "per- 
haps it  is  if  you  include  all  the  future  con- 
sequences." Well,  and  why  should  we  not 
include  all  the  future  consequences  when 
we  consider  such  a  matter?  Is  it  not  wise 
and  prudent?  Do  not  all  wise  and  prudent 
people  do  so?  Of  course  they  do.  So,  we 
( 186  ) 


Easy  to  Do  Right.  187 

say,  as  sensible  people  always  have  and 
will,  that  it  is  much  easier  to  do  right  than 
it  is  to  do  wrong. 

It  is  easier  and  better  for  a  boy  to  be 
studious  and  industrious  in  his  boyhood 
than  it  is  to  be  lazy  and  trifling.  The  days 
and  years  of  boyhood  will  soon  be  gone. 
He  who  has  formed  correct  habits,  and  who 
has  come,  through  discipline  and  training, 
into  the  days  of  a  competent  and  useful 
life,  will  be  an  honored  and  successful 
man.  Par  easier,  taking  a  whole  life- 
time into  consideration,  is  it  to  form  in- 
dustrious habits  than  to  be  self-indulgent 
and  slothful  in  youth. 

It  is  easier  and  better  for  any  man  to  be 
honest  nnd  truthful  and  upright  and  pure, 
than  to  become  involved  in  the  meshes  of 
sin  and  vice  and  crime.  Oh,  the  shame 
and  sorrow  and  confusion  that  come  to 
those  who  violate  the  plain  laws  of  God. 
The  forger  thinks  it  easy  to  get  money  by 
the  mere  writing  of  another  man's  name, 
but  the  detection  and  disgrace  and  punish- 
ment that  follow  make  a  crushing  load. 
The  robber  and  the  gambler  find  it  easy  to 
pick  up  the  property  of  some  victim,  but 
it  would  be  a  thousand  fold  easier  to  earn  it 


188         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

than  to  meet  with  the  fate  of  the  thief, 
which  will  come  upon  them. 

Sin  is  the  worst  folly  of  which  a  rational 
being  can  he  guilty.  He  who  violates  ihe 
laws  which  have  been  made  by  God  and 
by  human  society,  is  not  only  going  counter 
to  the  best  judgment  In  the  universe,  but 
Is  making  an  enemy  out  of  mighty  forces 
that  are  pledged  to  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws  that  have  been  made.  A  man  may 
disregard  the  law  of  gravitation  and  leap 
from  a  precipice,  but  he  will  suffer  without 
fail.  He  may  disregard  the  laws  as  to 
poison,  but  the  poison  will  grapple  with 
him  and  demand  his  life.  He  may  set  at 
naught  the  laws  as  to  purity  and  goodness, 
but,  If  he  does  he  will  go  down  to  moral 
and  physical  putrescence. 

Saul  was  a  mighty  man,  but  God  wag 
Almighty,  and  when  Saul  fell  Into  the  fatal 
folly  of  matching  himself  with  God,  In  dis- 
obedience, he  had  to  lament:  "I  have 
played  the  fool  and  erred  exceedingly." 
David  was  a  great  king,  but  when  he  al- 
lowed himself  to  fall  Into  a  pit  of  sin  one 
day,  the  rebuke  he  received,  and  the  con- 
sequent shame  and  sorrow,  made  him  real- 
ize that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  was 
not  easy,  but  exceedingly  hard.    It  may 


Easy  to  Do  Right.  189 

seem  to  be  easy,  at  the  time,  to  evade  re- 
sponsibility, to  shirk  duty,  to  fail  of  the 
truth,  and  to  deny  one's  Lord,  but  the  end 
thereof  is  death,  and  only  the  ways  of  duty 
and  obedience  and  true  wisdom  are  ways 
Oi  enduring  pleasantness  and  paths  of  abid- 
ing peace. 

It  is  the  end  that  crowns  the  work.  The 
morsel  that  is  sweet  to  the  taste,  but  that 
brings  bitterness  and  death,  were  better 
left  untasted.  The  loaf  that  is  plain  and 
coarse  may  build  up  fiber  and  give  health 
and  strength.  Obedience,  yoke-bearing 
and  burden-carrying  for  Christ  may  not 
seem  the  easiest  at  the  time,  but,  unless  we 
are  guilty  of  incomparable  fc-lly,  we  shall 
have  respect  to  the  recompense  of  the  re- 
ward. It  is  only  when  we  are  entirely  lack- 
ing Christian  grace  and  Christian  sense 
that  we  are  so  near-sighted  that  we  can  not 
even  think  of  looking  toward  the  end  ol 
the  way  that  stretches  out  before  us. 

It  is  easy  to  be  a  Christian.  It  is  the 
only  really  easy  life  that  was  ever  devised, 
and  it  has  been  devised  by  the  infinite  wis- 
dom and  love  and  grace,  and  pressed  upon 
us.  He  who  lives  as  a  Christian  will,  in 
this  present  life,  miss  a  little  hilarity  and 
boisterous  mirth  and  intoxicating  revelry 


190         The   Foursquare    Christian. 

and  selfish  ease  and  self-indulgence.  But 
he  will  miss  many  a  heartache  and  many  a 
pang  and  many  a  degradation.  And  he  is 
on  the  way  to  the  eternal  peace  and  joy 
and  glory.  He  will  come,  in  due  time,  to 
the  crown  and  the  throne  and  the  home  of 
fadeless  beauty.  "Facilis  est  descensus 
Averni."  It  has  long  been  admitted  that 
it  is  easy  to  drop  into  perdition,  but  it  is 
easier  to  walk  in  the  upward  way,  even 
though  at  first  strait  and  narrow,  for  at 
the  last  it  leads  over  the  Delectable  Moun- 
tains to  the  gates  of  pearl,  and  widens  out 
into  the  golden  streets  of  the  Celestial  City. 


A   PROSPEROUS  SOUL. 

It  is  a  little  strange  that  people  so  gen- 
erally emphasize  the  body  above  the  soul. 
When  we  meet  one  another  we  inquire  as 
to  one  another's  health,  and  we  generally 
assume  that  it  is  the  body  about  which 
we  ask.  "How  do  you  do?"  "Oh,  I  am 
very  well  except  for  a  cold  and  a  head- 
ache." Has  the  soul  a  cold  and  a  head- 
ache, or  do  I  assume,  and  is  it  the  truth, 
that  my  body,  and  not  my  soul,  is  in- 
quired about?  Usually  our  inquiries  and 
answers  are  all  about  the  body,  and  a 
solicitous  word  about  the  soul  would 
awaken  embarrassment  and  some  sort  of 
stammering  and  blushing  reply. 

He  was  a  rather  peculiar  man  who  said: 
"No,  sir;  I  do  not  have  a  soul."  "What 
do  you  mean?  I  had  no  idea  that  you 
were  a  materialist."  "I  am  not  a  mate- 
rialist. Far  from  it.  But  I  do  not  have  a 
soul.  I  prefer  to  say  that  I  have  a  body. 
I  am  a  soul.  For  the  present  I  inhabit  this 
body,  but  I  am  to  leave  it  after  a  time." 
He  was  peculiar,  but  he  had  the  truth. 
(191) 


192         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  are  not,  all  of  us,  more 
peculiar  in  this  same  direction.  If  so,  we 
should  think  more  of  the  health  and 
strength  and  well-being  of  the  soul  than 
we  do,  and  would  not  estimate  the  body 
to  be  important  out  of  all  true  proportion. 

We  are  often  led  to  wish,  in  regard  to 
a  great  many  people,  that  their  souls  might 
have  some  of  the  attention  they  give  to 
their  bodies,  and  that  they  might  have 
spiritual  life  and  vigor  akin  to  the  physi- 
cal vitality  and  health  they  possess.  We 
think  it  would  be  a  great  blessing  if  their 
souls  could  prosper  as  well  as  their  bodies 
do.  It  seems,  in  the  case  of  most  people, 
that  they  think  more  and  care  more  for 
body  than  for  soul.  Of  one  man  we  read, 
In  the  Third  Epistle  of  John,  a  different 
Btory.  John  writes  that  he  wishes  the  body 
of  the  beloved  Gains  might  prosper  even 
as  his  soul  prospered.  He  was,  probably, 
an  invalid  or  temporarily  ill,  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that,  whatever  the  condition  of  his 
body,  his  soul  was  a  prosperous  and  well- 
conditioned  soul. 

When  one's  body  is  well,  there  is  a 
healthful  appetite;  good  food  is  eaten  with 
relish,  digested  and  assimilated.  So  when 
a  soul  is  in  health,  it  has  a  longing  for 


A  Prosperous  Soul.  193 

spiritual  food.  It  feeds  on  Christ,  the 
living  Bread  of  Life.  It  loves  the  written 
Word  and  feeds  upon  the  truth  as  found 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  God's  Word  is 
found  and  eaten,  and  is  found  to  be  more 
than  one's  necessary  food.  Religious  truth 
Is  relished.  The  teaching  and  preaching 
of  God's  Word  is  a  delight.  He  who  is  in 
good  condition  spiritually,  so  as  to  have 
soul  prosperity,  loves  to  feed  upon  divine 
truth,  and  is  built  up  and  strengthened  by 
means  of  it. 

Again,  when  one's  body  is  well,  the  lungs 
draw  in  the  air  with  a  healthful  vigor,  and 
are  built  up  by  it.  Few  cf  us  breathe  in 
enough  of  the  vital  air.  So  when  a  soul  is 
well;  it  breathes  in  the  very  life  and 
Spirit  of  God  in  prayer.  No  one  can  be  a 
Christian  who  does  not  pray.  He  must 
pray,  in  order  to  live,  as  one  must  breathe 
in  order  to  have  physical  life.  The  more 
we  study  into  the  matter,  the  more  won- 
derfully striking  seems  the  analogy  be- 
tween breathing  and  prayer.  The  student 
of  language  may  discuss  the  etymological 
relation  between  the  words  for  spirit  and 
for  air.  If  we  are  in  the  Spirit,  we  shall 
feel  ourselves  to  be  in  a  very  atmosphere 
of  prayer. 


194         The   Foursquare  Christian. 

Again,  when  one's  body  is  well,  it  Is 
active,  and  delights  in  exercise  and  activ- 
ity. It  can  have  no  health  without  it. 
There  is  flabbiness  and  weakness  and  dis- 
ease without  exercise.  So  when  a  soul  is 
in  health,  it  is  ready  to  engage  in  God's 
service.  It  is  obedient.  It  is  ready  to  do 
God's  will.  It  seeks  ways  in  which  it  may 
work  for  God  and  his  cause.  A  selfish, 
inactive,  useless  Christian  is  an  absolute 
anomaly.  The  follower  of  Christ  lives  not 
to  himself,  but  to  him  who  died  for  him 
and  rose  again.  The  soul  that  prospers, 
and  is  well,  is  awake  and  active  in  the  life 
and  service  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Again,  when  one's  body  is  well,  there  is 
sensitiveness  as  to  pain.  The  paralyzed, 
stupefied,  fever-burned  body  is  in  a  dan- 
gerous condition  and  is  almost  uncon- 
scious of  pain.  So  the  soul  that  is  well 
is  sensitive  in  conscience  as  to  sin.  The 
lapse  into  sin  causes  it  pain.  This  indi- 
cates health.  While  health  U  buoyant  and 
happy  and  joyous  and  free  from  suffering, 
for  the  most  part,  anything  that  attacks 
the  well-being  of  the  body  causes  pain, 
so  that  pain  is  a  salutary  warning.  So 
spiritual  life  is  joy  and  peace  and  glad- 
ness, while  there  is  sensitiveness    as    to 


A  Prosperous  Soul.  195 

wrong-doing  and  pain  of  conscience  when 
sin  has  been  committed.  Alas  for  the  con- 
dition of  those  who  have  no  interest  in 
religious  things,  and  who  do  not  care  for 
sin  or  for  salvation. 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  well  and  buoy- 
ant in  health.  Some  have  this  only  in 
their  bodies.  Some  have  it  in  their  souls, 
rather,  as  in  the  case  of  the  beloved  Gaius. 
It  is  a  blessed  thing  if  the  soul  gains  the 
ascendency,  and,  even  while  the  outward 
man  perishes,  the  inward  man  is  renewed 
day  by  day.  There  is  a  life  where  there 
shall  be  no  pain  either  of  soul  or  body, 
and  a  home  in  which  both  body  and  soul 
shall  know  eternal  buoyancy  and  gladness 
in  the  holy  presence  of  God. 


V.^1NGS    AND    HANDS. 

Holy  aspiration  is  one  part  of  religious 
life.  The  devotional  spirit  is  an  important 
element  in  the  life  of  a  true  child  of  God. 
Piety  may  be  likened  to  wings,  by  means  of 
which  one  rises  into  the  high  realms  of 
life.  In  prayer  and  communion  with  Grod 
one  soars  above  the  ordinary  levels  of 
earthly  existence.  It  is  an  experience  which 
is  to  be  sought  after,  and  which  must  be 
possessed  by  all  who  know  anything  of 
real  spirituality.  Life  must  not  be  lived 
on  the  low  levels.  We  must  be  able  to 
rise  above  material  conditions.  We  are 
more  than  physical  and  intellectual.  We 
must  not  be  content  to  eat  and  to  drink  and 
to  die.  There  are  things  that  are  more 
enduring  and  more  to  be  desired  than  those 
that  we  see  and  hear  and  touch  with  our 
physical  senses.  The  angels  are  represented 
as  having  wings,  and  by  this  we  have  im- 
pressed upon  us  the  fact  of  their  higher 
and  more  spiritual  life  In  the  presence  and 
service  of  God. 

In  the  wonderful  vision  recorded  by 
( 196  ) 


Wings  and  Hands.  197 

Ezekiel  we  find  tbe  account  of  a  glorious 
being  which  was  mysterious  and  yet 
strangely  gracious  and  impressive  in  its 
appearance.  Its  attributes  were  intelligence 
and  spirituality  and  holiness  and  devotion 
to  God,  with  courage  and  steadfastness  in 
his  service.  It  had  the  faces  of  an  eagle, 
a  cherub,  a  lion,  and  a  man.  It  was  wise 
and  holy  and  strong  and  noble.  It  was  full 
of  activity  and  wisdom.  It  was  gloriously  en- 
swathed  in  a  cloud  of  brightness  and  mys- 
tery, and  wonderfully  supplied  with  wings. 
It  represented  the  high  and  holy  life  of 
aspiration  and  devotion.  But  undtrneath 
the  wings  weie  seen  the  hands  of  a  man. 
Hands  are  for  work,  and  they  typify 
practical  service.  However  devotional  and 
aspiring  the  spiritual  life  may  be.  the  child 
of  God  finds  himself  here  on  earth  in  con- 
ditions that  call  for  hard  and  faithful  work. 
He  must  work  and  watch  as  well  as  pray. 
There  are  times  when  he  may  close  the 
door  of  his  closet  while  he  prays  within, 
but  there  are  other  times  when  be  must 
close  it  while  he  works  without  It  is  Im- 
possible to  remain  long  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration.  There  are  suffering  ones 
down  on  the  plain,  who  are  to  be  healed. 
Holy  yisions  may  be  seen  on  the  mountain 


198         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

top,  but  there  are  impure  devils  to  be  cast 
out  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  On  wings 
of  faith  we  rise  to  holy  communion  with 
Christ  and  his  holy  ones,  but  with  the 
hands  of  consecrated  service  we  take  hold 
of  our  duty  and  do  it  in  loving  obedience. 

Every  true  Christian  has  the  wings  of 
spirituality,  but  he  has  also  the  hands  of 
service.  Hands  signify  work,  and  we  must 
be  active  and  diligent  in  the  Lord's  cause 
if  we  shall  make  our  lives  tell  for  good. 
It  takes  work  to  make  a  church  successful. 
We  can  not  fold  our  hands  and  get  our 
work  done.  We  can  not  expect  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  skies  on  flowery  beds  of  ease. 
Lazy  people  make  very  poor  Christians. 
An  active  man,  such  as  Paul,  is  apt  to  be 
a  useful  Christian  after  he  is  converted. 
The  people  built  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  in 
Nehemiah's  day,  for  they  had  a  mind  to 
work,  but  where  people  are  not  so  disposed 
they  will  never  build  up  the  church.  Let 
the  wings  carry  one  up  into  God's  presence, 
but  let  the  hands  do  God's  work  here  on 
earth. 

And  hands  are  for  giving.  To  be  sure 
this  is  a  very  important  department  of 
working.  We  are  to  work  ,and  are  to  de- 
vote the  first  fruits  of  all  our  increase  to 


Wings  and  Hands.  199 

the  Lord's  cause.  A  giving  cliurch  is  a 
living,  working  churcli.  A  Cliristian  who 
is  ready  and  willing  to  give  in  such  meas- 
ure as  to  honor  God  is  a  very  good  type  of 
a  working  Christian,  and  he  will  usually 
be  found  working  in  other  lines  as  diligent- 
ly and  lovingly  as  he  is  in  the  important 
work  of  filling  the  Lord's  treasury.  The 
piety  which  will  not  give  is  spurious.  The 
man  who  sings  so  vigorously  that  he  does 
not  notice  the  contribution  box  as  it  passes, 
has  a  religion  that  is  vain. 

And  hands  are  for  greeting.  We  touch 
right  hands  to  show  that  we  are  friends 
and  not  enemies.  When  we  extend  the 
open  right  hand,  it  is  to  show  that  we  have 
no  deadly  weapon  in  it.  This  is  the  spirit 
in  which  Christian  people  must  strive  to 
win  the  world  for  Christ.  We  are  to  invite 
them  and  persuade  them  to  come  to  him. 
We  are  to  greet  them  in  the  spirit  of  love, 
and  with  the  open  hand  grasp  them  and 
bring  them  into  the  church  of  Christ.  After 
all  our  praying  we  are  to  go  out  into  the 
world  with  open  hands,  and  try  to  bring 
people  to  the  feast  that  Christ  has  prepared. 

Christian  life  has  its  two  sides.  Each  is 
important.  Each  is  essential.  We  must 
pray   and    we    must  work.    We    must  use 


200         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

hands  and  we  must  use  wings.  Our  Lord 
did  not  spend  all  his  time  on  the  mountain 
tops  in  prayer,  but  v/ent  about  doing  good. 
So  the  child  of  Gud  must  use,  in  practical 
service,  the  strength  which  comes  in  the 
hours  of  devotion.  He  will  pray  most  and 
best  who  has  most  work  to  do  for  God  and 
his  fellowmen,  -^nd  he  who  longs  to  be 
spiritually  useful  will  seek  in  prayer  to  be 
spiritually  strong. 


WATCHMEN  ON  THE  TOWERS. 
A  very  impressive  illustration  is  used 
by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  those  who  are  in  places  of  re- 
sponsibility will  be  held  to  an  account  for 
their  faithfulness,  or  the  lack  of  it.  In  the 
hands  of  the  prophet  this  illustration,  or 
parable,  is  very  startling,  as  a  direct  mes- 
sage from  God  to  his  people  to  arouse  them 
to  carefulness  in  doing  their  whole  duty. 

We  see  a  watchman  on  the  tower  of  a 
city.  He  scans  the  horizon  in  all  directions 
for  possible  danger.  He  has  a  trumpet  in 
his  hand.  Enemies  are  liable  to  come 
stealing  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  city 
to  surprise  those  who  are  out  in  the  fields, 
or  outside  the  walls  of  the  city  for  any 
purpose.  The  lives  of  these  people  are 
really  in  the  hands  of  the  watchman.  If 
an  enemy  approaches,  the  watchman  must 
see  him,  and  must  give  notice  to  those 
who  are  exposed,  so  that  they  may  flee  into 
the  city,  within  the  protection  of  its  walls. 
The  watchman  must  bear  the  blame  if  any 
are  surprised  and  slain.    If  any  are  warned, 

(14)  :C201) 


202         TTie  Foursquare  Christian, 

however,  and  do  not  flee  after  being 
warned,  they  must  bear  the  blame  of  their 
own  death. 

This  has  a  spiritual  application  to  all 
times,  and  to  all  lands.  Sin  abounds  in 
the  world.  No  one  is  safe  from  its  ap- 
proaches and  surprises.  There  are  a  great 
many,  especially  the  young,  who  are  very 
inexperienced  and  in  very  great  danger. 
They  need  the  help  and  counsel  and  warn- 
ing of  those  who  can  come  to  them  in  the 
name  and  love  of  the  Lord,  and  plead  with 
them  to  flee  from  danger,  repent  of  sin,  be- 
lieve in  Jesus  Christ,  love  and  follow  him 
through  life,  and  know  the  real  and  full 
meaning  of  salvation.  There  is  safety 
just  at  hand  for  them,  if  they  will  flee  for 
refuge  to  Christ.  There  is  death  for  them 
if  they  stay  away  from  his  love  and  grace. 

The  minister  is  such  a  watchman.  He 
is  in  a  place  of  great  responsibility.  It  Is 
his  duty  to  warn  men  and  women  of  their 
danger,  to  point  out  to  them  the  certainty 
of  death,  BO  long  as  they  remain  in  sin, 
and  to  set  before  them  the  way  of  life,  so 
that  they  will  come  to  Christ  and  be  saved. 
It  is  a  terrible  thing  for  one  to  be  In  the 
ministry  and  be  unfaithful  to  his  trust. 
Thex^  should  be  the  plain  preaching  of  the 


Watchmen  on  the   Towers.         203 

solemn  warnings  of  the  Gospel.  The  fall 
round  of  truth  must  be  preached.  There 
must  be  no  unfaithful  silences.  There 
must  be  the  setting  forth  of  all  the  great 
truths  of  the  Cross.  There  must  be  per- 
sonal dealing  with  souls.  There  must  be 
no  fear  of  man.  There  must  be  tactful  and 
loving  words,  too,  so  that  the  truth  may 
be  effective  if  possible.  It  is  a  terrible 
thing  for  one  to  be  a  minister  and  to  let 
souls  perish  for  lack  of  faithfulness.  Hov/ 
many  ministers  will  have  blood  on  their 
garments?  No  one  may  know.  Each  one 
should  work  and  pray  that  he  may  be  faith- 
ful. 

But  elders  and  other  church  officers,  Sab- 
bath-school superintendents  and  teachers, 
are  likewise  watchmen  who  must  be  on 
their  guard  lest  they  let  souls  perish. 
Each  of  these  persons  has  great  responsi- 
bility. There  is  great  danger  to  the  one 
who  fills  one  of  thera  carelessly  and  un- 
worthily. But  there  is  equal  guilt  to  the 
one  who  will  not  take  such  a  place  be- 
cause he  wishes  to  evade  responsibility. 
There  are  those  around  us  who  must  be 
saved,  or  they  will  perish.  Some  must  be 
on  the  watch  towers.  Refusal  to  go  there 
is  negligence  and  cowardice  that  God  will 


204         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

rebuke.  The  elder  and  the  Sabbath-school 
teacher  have  great  opportunities.  Those 
who  are  efiicient  and  faithful  have  a  great 
reward,  here  and  hereafter. 

But  each  parent  is  a  watchman,  and  is 
set  especially  to  watch  for  his  or  her  own 
children.  No  parent  should  delegate  this 
duty  to  minister  or  Sabbath-school  teacher. 
What  can  any  parent  be  about  who  does  not 
use  ©very  possible  effort  to  win  for  Christ 
the  souls  given  to  him  or  her  by  the  Lord? 
There  is  nothing  on  earth  worth  thinking 
of  by  the  side  of  the  salvation  of  the  souls 
of  the  children.  Some  persons  give  them- 
selves to  business,  neglect  God  and  his 
service,  and  let  their  children  go  to  ruin 
unwarned  and  unentrealed  by  themselves. 
There  is  blood  on  the  hands  of  many  par- 
ents to-day,  we  are  sorely  afraid. 

But  every  church  member  is  a  watchman 
who  ought  to  be  warning  others  and  bring- 
ing them  to  Christ  To  know  enough  to  be 
a  member  of  the  church  is  to  know  enough 
to  save  others,  and  he  who  will  not  do  what 
he  can  do,  in  this  sinful  world,  is  in  a  posi- 
tion in  which  he  Is  Incurring  the  sore  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Almighty. 

But  there  Is  a  measureless  responsibility 
with  those  who  are  not  even  members  of 


Watchmen  on  the   Towers.         205 

the  church.  They  ought  to  sen>e  God,  even 
If  they  do  not.  No  one  absolves  himself 
from  responsibility  by  refusing  to  accept 
It.  Some  people  who  are  living  in  this 
world  without  any  seeming  care  or  thought 
as  to  themselves  or  others,  will,  some  day, 
come  to  a  great  surprise  when  they  awaken 
to  the  realization  that  they  have  thrown 
away  themselves  and  others  whom  they 
ought  to  have  guided  into  life.  Every  one 
who  lives  is  in  a  place  of  responsibility, 
and  God  will  hold  him  to  a  strict  account. 


THE  LORD'S  MONEY. 

It  takes  money  to  carry  on  the  work  of 
the  Church,  but  there  is  nothing  in  the 
world  so  worthy  of  being  carried  on.  As 
this  is  the  supreme  cause  in  the  world, 
being  the  cause  of  Christ,  the  support  of  it 
id  necessarily  the  supreme  use  of  money. 
All  other  causes,  important  and  necessary 
though  they  be,  are  of  secondary  impor- 
tance. Many  other  causes  must  not  be  neg- 
lected, but  this  must  be  supported.  It  is 
the  cause  of  God.  It  must  never  be  over- 
looked. 

When  God  projected  the  cause  of  his 
church  he  knew  that  it  would  take  money 
to  carry  it  on  as  it  would  for  the  home  and 
for  the  civil  government  among  men. 
Homes  are  provided  for  by  making  parents 
responsible;  governments  are  provided  for 
by  taxing  the  citizens,  and  the  Church  is 
to  be  supported  by  the  people  paying  into 
its  treasury  a  suflicient  amount  to  maintain 
its  life  and  work.  God  gave  specific  di- 
rections as  to  this,  and  we  do  well  to  take 
hoed  to  and  to  follow  his  instructions. 

It  is  no  more  giving  when  we  contribute 
(206) 


The  Lord's  Money.  207 

our  just  proportion  to  the  support  of  the 
Church  than  it  is  giving  when  we  pay  our 
taxes  or  when  we  pay  the  proper  expenses 
of  our  homes  and  families.  It  is  our  right- 
ful due,  and  we  should  neither  excuse  our- 
eelves  from  its  performance  nor  take  un- 
due credit  to  ourselves  for  us  performance. 
There  should  be  no  hesitancy  in  paying 
into  the  Lord's  treasury  all  that  he  aska 
for  and  all  that  is  needed  The  Church 
should  be  sustained  by  the  simple  and 
prompt  payment  of  all  those  who  receive 
its  benefits.  We  are  to  learn  to  pay  rather 
than  to  resort  to  questionable  methods  of 
raising  money. 

We  should  be  very  careful  how  we  call 
the  soliciting  of  money  for  the  Lord's  use 
by  the  belittling  term  of  "begging  "  and  yet 
we  sometimes  hear  this  done.  It  is  our 
duty  to  do  what  the  Lord  directs  us  in  this 
as  in  all  other  matters,  and  no  call  to  duty 
is  to  be  either  evaded  or  stigmatized.  It 
is>  an  honor  to  be  permitted  to  help  carry 
on  the  spiritual  work  of  the  Church  here 
on  earth.  God  might  work  miracles  and 
sustain  the  Church  without  money,  just  as 
he  might  send  angels  to  preach  and  to  do 
the  other  work  of  the  Church  instead  of 


208         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

men.  But  he  does  neither  one.  He  ex- 
I)ects  his  people  to  pay  and  to  work.  The 
Eioney  that  is  needed  is  in  the  hands  of 
God's  people,  ju&t  as  they  are  endowed  with 
strength  and  talents  of  speech.  It  is  God's 
money.  We  are  only  stewards  of  all  our 
talents  and  possessions.  We  are  to  use,  at 
the  Lord's  call,  all  we  are  and  all  we  have. 
The  New  Testament  rule  as  laid  down 
very  plainly  is  that  we  are  to  give  as  God 
has  prospered  us.  This  is  the  plain  apos- 
tolic direciion.  But  in  what  proportion?  One 
may  make  it  his  rule  to  gi^'e  the  one-tenth 
of  his  income,  another  the  one-hundredth, 
and  another  the  one-thousandth,  and,  as 
the  Lord  prospers  them,  they  will  have 
more  or  less  to  give.  It  is  clear  that  there 
must  be  something  else  as  a  rule  to  define 
the  duty,  lor,  by  itself,  there  is  here  no  rule 
for  educating  covetousness  ciut  of  the  heart. 
God  is  exact  as  to  the  amount  of  time  that 
is  to  be  devoted  to  the  sacr«^d  purposes,  and 
it  hurts  some  people  very  greatly  to  use 
one-seventh  of  all  the  Javs  for  spiritual 
uses.  God  does  not  tell  us  to  set  apart  as 
much  time  as  we  think  W3  can  spare.  The 
same  principle  is  apparent  in  the  use  of 
money.    God  asks  the  tithe,  and,  according 


The  Lord's  Money.  209 

as  he  prospers  us,  this  will  amount  to  more 
or  less. 

When  the  Jewish  nation  was  in  the 
height  of  its  prosperity,  an'l  in  the  full  tide 
ol  its  &pij-itual  tide,  we  find  them  paying 
the  tithe  into  the  Lord's  treasury,  and 
when  they  were  declining  we  find  them 
reglecting  this  duty  and  being  upbraided 
for  it.  The  Roman  Catholics  expect  this 
much  from  their  people.  The  Mormons 
demand  this  all  the  time.  If  these  bodies 
thrive  temporally  as  they  do  under  this 
provision,  how  much  more  is  the  Church 
of  the  pure  evangel  worthy  of  this,  and 
how  much  more  ready  should  we  be  to  pay 
it  for  the  sake  of  Christ! 

The  law  of  the  tithe  is  like  the  law  of 
the  Sabbath  in  that  it  has  never  been  abro- 
gated, and  that  it  is  held  very  loosely  by 
many,  and  utterly  scouted  by  many  more. 
Yet  those  who  profess  to  be  guided  by 
God's  Word  should  be  very  careful  how 
they  treat  lightly  any  of  God's  directions. 
Before  the  Jewish  nation  was  in  existence, 
the  announcement  was  made  that  the 
tithe  is  the  Lord's.  Tha  Jewish  nation, 
living  under  the  directly  divine  govern- 
ment, incorporated  this  principle  into  their 


210         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

national  law  and  life,  and  paid  the  tithe 
into  the  Lord's  treasury.  If  Christian  peo- 
ple should  all  do  this,  there  would  he  no 
limit  to  the  success  that  might  attend  their 
efforts  to  send  the  Gospel  through  all  the 
earth. 


MISSIONS. 

There  are  a  great  many  arguments 
against  the  work  of  toreign  missions  whiclj 
are  sufficiently  satisfactory  to  the  unspir- 
itually  minded  to  justify  them  in  their 
course  of  doing  nothing  to  give  the  Gospel 
to  the  heathen  world.  Of  course,  their  spir- 
itual inertia  or  lack  of  interest  would  be 
sufficient  to  keep  them  from  doing  any- 
ihing,  but.  Id  order  to  show  that  their  op- 
position is  founded  on  reason,  there  is  a 
great  array  of  argument  against  the  very 
thing  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  com- 
missioned his  disciples  to  undertake  and 
perform. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  foreign  missions 
do  not  succeed;  that  the  work  is  simply 
emotional  and  visionary,  and  that  nothing 
real  and  lasting  is  accomplished.  In  an- 
swer to  this  we  may  simply  point  to  Eng- 
land and  America  and  to  other  Christian 
lands,  in  every  one  of  which  heathenism 
would  be  prevalent  and  undisturbed  had 
not  the  religion  of  Christ  been  carried  to 
these  countries  and  people  in  early  days  by 
those  who  went  out,  in  obedience  to  the 
(211) 


212  The   Foursquare   Christian. 

Lord,  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 
If  it  had  not  been  for  foreign  missions 
our  ancestors  would  have  continued  in  their 
heathen  life,  and  we,  their  children,  would 
still  be  walking  in  their  unhappy  footsteps. 
England  and  America  are  proofs  that  for- 
eign missions  succeed. 

But  it  is  sometimes  said  again  that  the 
success  is  only  partial,  and  not  such  as  to 
justify  us  in  going  to  the  great  trouble  and 
expense  of  sending  missionaries  to  lands 
that  are  intrenched  in  their  old  heathen 
faiths.  These  people  say  that,  with  all  our 
church  life  and  influence  and  machinery, 
triere  are  millions  in  this  country  that  hold 
out  against  the  Gospel,  and  that  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  Gospel  will  succeed 
in  lands  where  there  are  only  a  few  mis- 
sionaries. This  argument  proves  entirely 
too  much.  If  there  are  people  in  this  land 
who  held  out  against  Christ,  in  despite  of 
all  they  see  and  know,  they  are  so  hard- 
hearted that  there  is  little  reason  for  wast- 
ing time  with  them.  TTie  fact  is  that  heathen 
people,  in  proportion  to  their  advantages, 
are  turning  to  Christ  more  rapidly  than 
people  in  Christian  lands.  Our  foreign  mis- 
sionaries receive  far  more  persons  into  the 
church  on  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  than 


Missions.  213 


do  our  ministers  at  home.  This  is  a  fact. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  it.  All  church  re- 
ports show  it.  Missions  do  succeed,  and 
they  are  succeeding  more  and  more. 

We  have  in  our  own  country  at  present 
at  least  29,000,000  members  of  the  various 
churches.  The  census  of  1900,  more  than 
five  years  ago,  gave  nearly  28,000,000.  Of 
these,  about  20,000,000  are  communicants  in 
(•ur  Protestant  wiurches,  with  a  much 
larger  Protestant  population  not  embraced 
in  the  number,  and  about  9,000,000  are  the 
Roman  Catholic  population.  There  are  at 
least  60,000,000  of  people  who  are  Protest- 
ant in  their  belief  and  adherence.  They 
give  assent  to  the  Gospel.  Their  lives  are 
more  or  less  influenced  by  it.  They  are 
governed  by  its  practical  principles  and 
live  in  accordance  with  its  general  moral 
precepts.  In  our  nation  we  may  safely  say 
that  we  have  a  community  of  at  least  sev- 
enty millions  whose  lives  are  molded  very 
largely  by  the  power  ot  the  Gospel,  and  we 
would  not  be  willing  to  say  about  the  few 
remaining  millions  that  they  disbelieve  and 
hate  God.  Practically  this  is  a  Christian 
land,  although  there  is  much  sin  and  dis- 
loyalty to  God  and  rejection  of  the  saving 
influences  of  Christ  and  his   Holy   Spirit. 


214         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

Tlie  Gospel  has  done  so  much  for  us  in 
making  life  and  property  safe  and  secure, 
that  we  should  be  greatly  anxious  to  pass 
along  its  benefits  and  privileges  to  others 
who  are  less  favored.  If  there  is  any  v/ay 
of  bringing  other  lands  to  enjoy  as  much 
as  we  do,  we  should  be  sufficently  unselfish 
to  do  what  we  can  for  them.  There  is  such 
a  way,  and  that  way  is  foreign  missions. 

But  again,  it  is  said  that  the  most  ef- 
fective way  to  induce  heathen  people  to 
accept  our  religion  would  be  to  show  them 
what  it  can  do  for  us  at  home,  and  that, 
consequently,  we  should  keep  all  our  forces 
at  work  here  until  our  people  are  entirely 
converted,  every  evil  thing  eliminated,  and 
we  an  absolutely  perfect  people,  showing 
up  as  a  perfect  example,  and  stirring  up  all 
the  world  to  accept  our  religion  and  become 
like  us.  But  this  is  not  the  divine  plan. 
We  have  in  Christ  the  perfect  example  to 
point  the  world  to.  If  we  remain  at  home 
and  keep  all  our  religion  at  home,  we  shall 
simply  exhibit  ourselves  as  a  colossal  ex- 
pression of  selfishness.  If  we  let  the  heath- 
en people  perish  without  the  Gospel,  while 
we  parade  ourselves  before  their  eyes,  they 
will  not  lovingly  cry  out  for  our  faith  and 
our  Savior,  but  they  will  hate  us  for  our 


Missions.  215 


selfishness  and  will  accuse  us  to  God  for 
our  betrayal  of  our  sacred  trust.  Only  as 
we  give  them  the  story  of  the  cross  are  we 
setting  them  an  example  that  shall  win 
them  to  a  saved  life. 

Christ's  plan  is  the  best  plan.  Being  the 
best  plan,  we  are  to  know  no  other.  The 
Gospel  is  the  secret  of  America's  greatness. 
If  every  soul  in  America  would  accept 
Christ,  our  country  would  be  far  greater. 
If  we  withhold  the  Gospel  from  the  world, 
we  shall  shrink  and  shrivel  in  pettiness  and 
Eelfishness  and  disloyalty  to  Christ.  It  is 
not  simply  a  question  as  to  what  is  to  be- 
come of  the  heathen  world  if  we  withhold 
the  Gospel,  but  what  is  to  become  of  our- 
selves if  we  are  so  unkind  and  unfeeling 
as  to  have  no  regard  to  the  need  of  those 
who  are  perishing.  If  we  have  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  we  v,ill  do  what  lies  in  our  power 
to  spread  the  joyful  tidings  over  all  the 
world.  We  will  not  wait  for  arguments  and 
figures  to  convince  and  move  us.  We  will 
move  at  the  Impulse  of  Christ's  love.  We 
will  try  to  seek  the  lost  everywhere  in  re- 
membrance of  him  and  of  his  directions. 
We  will  have  in  mind  the  fact  that,  inas- 
much as  we  do  this  to  even  the  least,  we  do 
it  unto  him, 


TEMPERANCE. 

In  all  ages  and  in  all  lands  intemperance 
has  been  the  besetting  sin  of  great  multi- 
tudes. In  yielding  to  it  they  have  brought 
upon  themselves  calamities  of  body  and  of 
soul,  while  sorrow,  destitution  and  crime 
have  been  the  accompaniments  and  the  re- 
sults of  their  sinful  self-indulgence.  The 
wise,  the  good,  the  philanthropic,  every- 
where have  raised  their  voices  in  warning, 
in  pleading,  in  protestation.  Something  has 
been  done  to  check  the  tide  of  misery. 
Many  of  the  fallen  have  been  uplifted,  and 
many  have  been  kept  from  falling. 

God's  providential  dealings  with  men 
have  done  much  to  point  out  the  dangers 
and  evils  of  a  course  of  intemperance.  His 
laws  in  the  natural  world  have  been  en- 
forced, and  men  have  seen  that  they  could 
not  go  on  in  sin  without  receiving  the  pen- 
alty for  it  in  their  bodies.  TTie  bleared  eye. 
the  palsied  nerve,  the  blotched  face,  the 
bloated  frame,  the  feverish  stomach  and 
the  maddened  brain  have  always  been  the 
external  marks  of  the  drunkard,  and  while 
(216) 


Temperance.  217 


these  have  been  physical  signs  testifying 
against  him  the  ravages  have  been  going 
on  in  his  moral  and  religious  nature,  and 
at  the  same  time  his  business,  his  home 
and  his  loved  ones  have  suffered. 

Efforts  to  repress  intemperance  have 
been  made  everywhere  and  always. 
Throughout  the  whole  Word  of  God  are  the 
solemn  admonitions  against  the  evil  and 
destructive  habits  of  using  strong  drink. 
The  book  of  Proverbs,  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  and,  in  fact,  nearly  every  book  of 
the  Bible  contains  most  earnest  admoni- 
tion and  instruction  on  this  subject. 

Some  people  say  that  intemperance  is  so 
deadly  to-day  because  of  the  fact  that  im- 
pure and  poisonous  liquor  is  used.  Let  it 
be  understood  that  there  is  no  pure  liquor 
and  that  there  never  has  been.  Alcohol  is 
the  deadly  poison  that  has  always  been 
sought  for  to  make  men  drunk.  All  the 
other  poisons  used  along  with  it  are  com- 
paratively harmless  as  compared  with  this. 
The  loses  and  degradations  over  which  the 
prophets  and  apostles  wept  and  mourned 
were  brought  about  by  "pure"  wine,  and 
the  apostle  was  led  to  write  that,  even 
under  the  influence  of  the  pure  wines  of 
New  Testament  times  and  lands,  the  one 
( 15  ) 


218         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

who  became  a  drunkard  should  not  inherit 
the  kingdom  cf  heaven,  while,  so  far  as 
moral  character  was  concerned,  he  classed 
him  with  extortioners  and  thieves.  It  is 
not  a  little  danger,  a  little  vice,  or  a  little 
crime  to  form  the  habits  and  live  the  life 
of  ttie  drunkard. 

Laws  have  been  made  in  almost  endless 
variety  for  the  limitation  and  extermina- 
tion of  this  evil.  The  study  of  temperance 
legislation  is  most  interesting  from  one 
standpoint,  while  it  is  alternately  encour- 
aging and  disheartening.  Laws  have  never 
entirely  abated  the  evil,  while  ceaseless 
vigilance  has  been  necessary  for  their  en- 
forcement and  continuance.  Education 
has  been  continually  necessary.  Religious 
motives  must  be  constantly  pressed.  Tem- 
perance societies  and  leagues  and  orders 
have  done  much.  Business  men  are  force- 
ful in  demanding  temperance  and  total  ab- 
stinence in  their  employees.  On  the  whole, 
advance  is  being  made.  The  world  stands 
on  a  higher  temperance  plane  than  it  did 
a  century  ago. 

It  would  seem  that  there  are  no  persons 
to  raise  their  voices  in  favor  of  strong 
drink  except  the  manufacturers  and  deal- 
ers, who  have  sold  themselves  for  money 


Temperance.  219 


to  work  iniquity,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  the  men  who  are  slaves  to  their 
stomachs.  All  men  who  have  regard  for 
the  well-being  of  their  fellows,  from  a  re- 
ligious, moral,  patriotic,  social,  philan- 
thropic or  economic  standpoint,  denounce 
the  use  of  intoxicants  as  antagonistic  to 
religion,  good  morals,  physical  health,  fam- 
ily life,  personal  success  and  national  pros- 
perity. One  has  but  to  open  his  eyes  to 
see  the  damaging  results  of  liquor  drink- 
ing, and  we  have  hope,  founded  on  the  in- 
telligence and  conscience  of  the  people,  that 
the  liquor  traffic  is  to  perish. 

The  financial  cost  of  liquor  is  astound- 
ing as  measured  by  the  money  spent  for  it, 
the  lives  rendered  useless  and  destroyed  by 
it  that  might  be  productive,  the  poverty, 
disease,  insanity  and  crime  that  are  its  di- 
rect products.  Common  sense  would  urge 
the  destruction  of  the  cause  of  so  large 
a  cost  as  comes  to  us  by  means  of  prisons, 
infirmaries  and  asylums. 

The  whole  matter  of  using  alcohol  as  a 
drink  or  a  medicine  is  a  fallacy.  Intem- 
perate men  can  not  endure  cold  or  heat  or 
disease.  Thousands  of  volumes  are  con- 
densed in  this  one  statement  of  fact.  The 
physician  who  prescribes  it  is  behind  the 


220         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

times,  and  the  enemy  of  his  patients.  The 
mother  who  permits  it  in  her  home,  as  a 
drink  for  entertainment,  or  as  an  element 
in  her  food  for  seasoning,  is  foolish  and 
criminal  beyond  the  power  of  words  to 
describe. 

Let  Christian  people  be  forceful  in  their 
influence  against  intemperance  in  any  and 
every  form.  Alcoholic  wine  is  scarcely 
ever  brought  to  the  communion  table  any- 
where. Liquor  is  banished  from  our  sol- 
diers' canteens  and  should  never,  at  the 
demand  of  dealers  or  drunkards,  be  re- 
stored. Let  us  drive  it  from  all  our  homes. 
Let  us  expel  it  from  our  towns  and  counties 
and  States.  Let  us  be  strong  in  our  oppo- 
sition to  it  everywhere,  vigilant,  deter- 
mined and  prayerful,  and  we  can  do  some- 
thing to  check  the  power  and  limit  the  in- 
fluence of  this  mighty  evil. 


SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK. 

The  importance  of  the  work  contemplated 
by  the  Sabbath-school  can  not  be  over- 
estimated. It  is  the  religious  education  of 
the  children  of  the  country,  many  of  these 
gathered  in  being  from  the  families  of  the 
Church,  but  many  of  them  coming  from 
homes  where  no  religious  influences  touch 
them.  It  is  then  to  be  counted  on  as  one 
of  the  evangelizing  agencies,  and  a  fore- 
most purpose  with  its  workers  should  be 
to  secure  the  early  conversion  of  the  chil- 
dren who  are  under  their  influence,  it  may 
be,  for  only  a  little  while. 

Whatever  the  form  of  the  effort,  the  un- 
derlying thought  and  purpose  is,  the  same 
everywhere,  and  that  is,  to  reach  and  teach 
the  children  so  that  they  shall  come  to 
know  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  shall  be 
led  to  accept  savingly  of  Jesus  Christ.  In 
all  dispensations  of  the  Church,  in  Old 
Testament  as  well  as  New  Testament  times 
and  since,  there  has  always  been  some  pro- 
vision for  instructing  the  children,  teach- 
ing them  the  reality  and  importance  of  sa- 
(221) 


222         The  Foursquare  Christian. 

cred  things,  and  training  them  up  in.  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

The  fact  that,  owing  to  the  heterogeneous 
nature  of  our  population,  there  can  be  no 
religious  training  in  our  public  schools  as 
in  some  older  lands,  makes  it  all  the  more 
imperative  that  the  Church  shall  put  forth 
strenuous  and  unremitting  efforts  to  teach 
the  children  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  If  the 
Bible  can  not  be  read  in  the  public  schools, 
it  ought  to  be  read  all  the  more  diligently 
at  home  and  in  the  church  in  all  its  work. 
Let  the  Christian  people  realize  that  the 
heme  and  the  church  are  responsible  for 
the  spiritual  training  and  salvation  of  the 
children. 

Much  good  is  being  done  in  the  Sabbath- 
school.  Immeasurably  more  might  be  done 
if  the  competency  and  spirituality  of  the 
whole  Sabbath-school  force  were  ideal. 
They  are  not.  One  hour  a  week,  with  an 
imperfect  force  of  teachers,  is  not  much, 
yet  it  is  far  better  than  nothing,  and  in 
many  cases  it  has  meant  a  revolutionized 
community,  and  many  souls  regenerated 
and  trained  for  Christ.  Let  us  not  overrate 
the  Sabbath-school.  Especially  let  us  not 
underrate  it.  Let  us  soberly,  conscientious- 
ly and  earnestly,  do  what  we  can  to  make 
it  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  what  it  may  be- 


Sa'b'batTi-sc'hool  Worh.  223 

come,  under  the  blessing  of  God  on  the 
efforts  of  his  loving-hearted  people. 

The  Sabbath-school  is  to  be  regarded  not 
as  an  independent  institution,  but  simply 
as  one  department  of  the  Church.  In  it 
we  see  the  Church  exerting  its  activity  in 
securing  the  important  ends  to  which  ref- 
erence has  just  been  made.  It  may  be  that 
the  Church  is  at  work  for  the  religious 
training  of  the  children  of  its  own  fami- 
lies, providing  for  them  a  service  adapted 
to  their  necessities,  and  calculated  to  be  of 
great  spiritual  interest  and  advantage  to 
them.  It  may  be  that  the  larger  purpose 
is  manifest  in  reaching  the  children  of 
the  entire  vicinity  and  bringing  them  un- 
der the  power  of  the  gospel.  It  may  be 
that  the  individual  Church  organizes  and 
develops  its  own  particular  mission  for  the 
benefit  of  some  neighborhood  that  needs 
this  sort  of  spiritual  care.  It  may  be  that 
the  denomination  has  its  missionary  board 
for  organizing  Sabbath-schools  on  the  fron- 
tiers that  shall  grow  into  churches  after  a 
time. 

Christian  people  should  not  be  content 
to  leave  the  religious  training  of  their 
children  to  the  Sabbath-school  teacher, 
however  competent  and  devoted,  but  should 
make  the  home  the  real  training-school  in 


224         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

piety.  Nor  should  the  Sabbath-school  be 
the  only  church  service  for  the  children. 
They  should  be  taken  to  the  preaching- 
services  and  trained  to  attend  on  the 
preaching  of  the  Word.  After-results  will 
vindicate  the  wisdom  of  this  course. 

One  person  may  have  a  good  Sabbath- 
school.  Of  course  it  can  not  be  as  good 
as  ten  persons  equally  excellent  can  make, 
but  it  may  be  the  means  of  great  results. 
The  superintendent  may  not  have  ideal 
teachers,  but  if  he  be  a  wise  and  good  man 
he  may  animate  the  whole  school,  arouse 
within  it  a  deep  interest  in  and  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things,  and  may  lead  both 
scholars  and  teachers  into  a  better  and  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  Jesus  Christ. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

The  young  people  of  the  Church  call  for 
and  require  particular  attention  in  order 
that  their  religious  life  may  be  properly 
nurtured  and  that  they  may  be  developed 
in  their  powers  of  Christian  activity  and 
usefulness.  The  period  lying  between 
childhood  and  maturity  demands  special  at- 
tention. During  recent  years  much  inter- 
est has  been  felt  in  the  organization  and 
work  of  young  people's  societies,  and  much 
has  been  done  along  these  lines,  a  great 
deal  of  which  has  been  worthy  of  the  high- 
est commendation. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  the  suc- 
cess of  any  particular  society  or  organiza- 
tion. TTie  primary  object  is  the  welfare  of 
the  young  people  themselves  and  the 
Church.  That  society  is  good  which  sets 
the  young  people  to  work  in  the  study  of 
the  Scriptures,  in  the  holding  of  devotional 
meetings,  in  the  activities  of  the  home 
Church,  in  the  study  and  giving  to  mis- 
sions and  other  causes  of  the  Church,  and 
in  efforts  to  secure  the  evangelization  of 
the  community  in  which  they  live.  The 
(225) 


226         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

young  people  are  no  longer  children.  They 
will  soon  be  the  adults,  and  they  should 
learn  to  take  up  the  devotional,  financial 
and  social  work  of  the  Church  in  a  spir- 
itual, practical  and  effective  manner. 

The  young  people  are  soon  to  be  older. 
They  may  stave  off  some  of  the  signifl- 
cancy  of  the  inevitable  by  retaining  young 
hearts,  but  they  must  grow  into  maturity, 
and  into  old  age,  if  they  live.  Out  of  their 
ranks  are  to  come  the  officers  and  leaders 
of  the  Church,  the  Sabbath-school  teachers 
and  workers.  TTie  wise  pastor  will  have 
this  fact  in  view,  and  will  seek  to  train 
them  in  Bible  knowledge,  in  church  work, 
in  Christian  giving,  in  missionary  interest 
and  in  philanthropic  activity.  The  wise 
and  good  pastor  is  busying  himself  in  these 
directions.  His  young  people  are  in  his 
heart  and  in  his  prayers.  He  leads  them 
and  loves  them.  Happy  is  the  pastor  who 
has  his  quiver  full  of  them. 

He  is  a  strange  pastor,  or  strangely  sit- 
uated, who  does  not  find  his  young  people 
ready  to  be  led.  Ordinarily  the  young 
people  who  are  Christians  are  not  only  en- 
thusiastic workers  and  students,  but  they 
are  pliable  and  docile  in  the  hands  of  a 
true  and  good  pastor.     Mr.  Spurgeon  used 


Young  People.  227 

to  say  that  he  had  far  less  trouble  with  the 
persons  who  united  with  the  church  before 
they  were  sixteen  years  of  age  than  he  did 
with  those  who  united  later  in  life.  This 
is  the  general  experience  of  pastors.  Where 
it  is  not,  there  is  something  wrong.  Either 
some  abnormal  influence  is  at  work  among 
the  young  people  of  that  particular  congre- 
gation, or  else  there  is  something  wrong 
in  the  spirit  or  manner  of  the  pastor.  In 
either  case- the  evil  should  be  discovered 
and  remedied. 

Pastor  and  young  people  should  be  in 
most  sympathetic  touch.  The  good  pastor 
will  try  to  do  something  for  each  young 
person  in  his  congregation  in  giving  him 
something  to  do,  or  he  will  take  general 
notice  of  the  work  of  the  young  people, 
commending  it,  taking  part  in  it  and  de- 
veloping it,  and  he  will  seek  to  be  with  the 
young  people  as  far  as  is  possible,  in  their 
meetings  and  in  the  events  of  their  social 
life.  But  he  will  be  discouraged  if  they 
do  not  meet  him  half  way  at  least.  If  we 
had  sufficient  influence  we  would  constrain 
all  the  young  people  to  attend  the  preach- 
ing services.  It  is  depressing  and  disheart- 
ening to  the  pastor  to  see  them  assembled 
in  their  meeting,  in  which  they  have  per- 


228         The  Foursquare   Christian^. 

haps  had  the  help  of  his  presence  and  as- 
sistance, and  then  deliberately  walk  away 
from  the  evening  service  as  though  they 
had  no  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
church  and  no  regard  for  the  feelings  of 
the  pastor.  Where  this  is  done  it  should 
come  to  an  end,  or  the  best  results  are 
an  utter  impossibility. 

Because  some  particular  pastor  is  not 
enthusiastic  over  some  special  organiza- 
tion which  seeks  to  control  his  young  peo- 
ple is  no  argument  that  he  does  not  care 
for  his  young  people.  It  may  be  an  evi- 
dence that  he  is  particularly  careful  of 
them  and  their  interests.  Whether  his 
judgment  on  all  points  may  be  sound  or 
not  is  another  matter.  He  wishes  his 
young  people  to  be  growing  and  working, 
intelligent  in  faith  and  loyal  in  life.  It 
may  be  that  his  principal  objection  to  the 
organization  is  the  danger  that  it  may  di- 
vide their  interest^  dissipate  their  energies, 
and  distract  their  attention  from  local  and 
actual  interests  to  those  that  are  of  sec- 
ondary importance.  There  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  attention  given,  of  late  years, 
to  conventions,  many  of  which  have  been 
of  no  particular  advantage. 

'The  young  men  and   young  women  of 


Young  People.  229 

the  Church  of  to-day  have  had  much  given 
to  them,  and  from  them  much,  rightfully, 
■will  be  required.  They  should  bear  them- 
selves with  intelligence,  piety  and  gravity 
in  the  life  and  work  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  They  do  not  need  to  be  petted  and 
indulged,  and  they  should  not  look  for  nor 
expect  such  treatment.  They  should  put 
away  childish  things  and  bestir  themselves 
as  those  whom  God  is  calling  to  sobsr  and 
serious  service,  which  they  are  to  render 
in  the  spirit  of  exalted  and  joyous  self-sur- 
render. 


MEN'S  LEAGUES. 

It  is  fitting  and  proper  that  tlie  men  of 
a  particular  church  should  be  banded  to- 
gether for  the  sake  of  more  intimate  fel- 
lowship and  more  practical  eflaciency.  All 
the  other  elements  of  the  congregation  are, 
or  may  be,  thus  organized.  The  women 
have  their  missionary  and  aid  societies  and 
prayer-meetings.  The  children  have  their 
mission  bands  and  junior  young  people's 
societies.  The  young  people  have  their  En- 
deavor or  similar  organizations.  In  many 
congregations  there  is  a  Boys'  Brigade  or 
a  band  of  some  name  for  the  young  men 
and  boys. 

In  recent  years  men's  leagues  have  been 
started  in  many  congregations,  and  often- 
times with  happy  results.  Of  course,  in 
order  to  be  worth  while,  the  end  in  view  in 
such  an  organization  must  be  of  sufficient 
dignity  and  importance  to  compensate  for 
the  time  and  effort  required.  It  does  take 
much  effort  for  the  men  to  carry  on  such 
a  work.  Busy  and  engrossed  as  they  are, 
they  are  asked  to  attend  one  more  meet- 
ing, and  there  devise  some  form  of  effort 
(  230  ) 


Men's  Leagues.  231 

to  add  to  the  attractiveness  and  efficiency 
of  the  Church.  But  let  the  appeal  be  made 
to  the  Christian  manhood  of  the  Church, 
and  it  will  be  sure  to  meet  with  a  response. 

'TTiere  is  only  one  sufficiently  important 
end  to  be  aimed  at,  and  that  is  the  con- 
version of  souls  and  the  spiritual  uplift  of 
the  people.  Let  this  motive  be  lovingly 
presented,  and  there  will  be  men  to  ac- 
knowledge its  power  and  enroll  themselves 
to  work  unitedly  to  secure  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  those  whom  they  may  lead  to 
Christ  and  to  a  place  in  his  Church. 

Sometimes  the  special  work  undertaken 
is  that  of  developing  the  Sabbath-evening 
service  and  helping  to  make  it  a  more  thor- 
oughly evangelistic  service.  When  the  men 
rally  to  the  assistance  of  the  pastor  it  is 
as  when  Aaron  and  Hur  upheld  the  hands 
of  Moses.  They  advertise  the  meeting  as 
the  one  for  which  they  are  especially  re- 
sponsible. They  have  a  program,  or  order 
of  services,  printed,  it  may  be,  and  distrib- 
uted during  the  week  and  through  the  con- 
gregation. They  invite  people.  They  act 
as  ushers,  with  hearty  friendliness.  They 
help  to  add  new  features  to  the  service  of 
praise.  In  the  after-meeting  they  distrib- 
ute cards  of  invitation  to  Christ,  get  the 


232         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

names  of  those  who  manifest  interest, 
speak  to  them  of  Christ  or  introduce  them 
to  the  pastor,  and  in  many  ways  seek  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity. 

They  may  have  their  own  ways  of  going 
about  these  matters.  The  essential  thing 
is  to  have  an  interest  aroused  for  the  work, 
and  then  to  do  it.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
have  the  particular  name  or  constitution 
that  some  other  league  may  have.  The 
brotherhoods  of  Andrew  and  Philip  have 
been  very  eflBcient  in  many  churches,  but 
the  matter  of  greatest  importance  is  for 
men  to  have  the  spirit  of  these  two  early 
disciples  who  led  their  own  brothers  to 
Jesus  Christ,  and  they  will  find  just  the 
right  and  best  way  to  do  it. 

There  may  be  monthly  meetings  for  con- 
sultation, business,  discussion,  social  greet- 
ing and  prayer.  An  occasional  supper  to- 
gether, at  which  the  work  of  the  league,  of 
the  church,  and  of  the  great  kingdom  of 
Christ  may  be  talked  over,  will  prove  to 
be  of  great  attractiveness  and  helpfulness. 
The  great  animating  purpose  of  each  league 
must  be  that  of  leading  souls  to  Christ  and 
upbuilding  the  Church. 


WOMAN  AND  HER  WORK. 

Woman's  religious  work  has  always  been 
a  very  important  element  in  the  life  and 
progress  of  Christianity.  This  is  not  sur- 
prising. W^e  would  naturally  expect  one- 
half  of  the  adult  membership  of  the  church 
at  any  time  to  be  composed  of  women, 
and  at  least  one-half  of  the  attendance  on 
religious  services,  and  of  the  interest  and 
prayer  and  work  of  the  church,  to  come 
from  Lhem.  That  they  have  more  than 
fulfilled  what  might  have  been  expected 
from  them  shows  that  they  have  more  gen- 
erally than  men  realized  the  goodness  of 
God  in  the  Gospel  and  accepted  the  grace 
and  service  of  the  Redeemer. 

When  the  Gospel  was  first  preached  it 
won  some  of  its  earliest  adherents  among 
wornen.  Many  of  the  early  followers  of 
Christ  were  women.  The  Marys  and  Mar- 
thas sat  at  his  feet  and  ministered  to  his 
needs.  We  find  in  the  Gospels  many  no- 
tices of  women  who  were  interested  in  fol- 
lowing Christ.  Some  of  these  were  the 
last  at  the  cross  and  the  earliest  at  the 
sepulchre.  Among  the  disciples  which 
(  10  )  (  233  ) 


234         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

Christ  left  on  earth  at  his  ascension  were 
many  women.  Among  those  who  turned 
to  him  at  the  preaching  of  the  apostles  in 
heathen  lands,  we  find  such  names  as 
Dorcas  and  Damaris,  Lois  and  Eunice, 
Phebe  and  Priscilla,  Junia  and  Julia.  Many 
of  these  were  active  in  the  work  of  the 
Ijord,  and  the  Apostle  Paul  was  urgent  that 
they  should  be  helped  in  their  holy  la- 
bors. 

That  the  Gospel  should  be  accepted  by 
so  many  women  who  honored  Christ  bj- 
serving  him  lovingly,  was  a  credit  to  the 
women  and  a  testimony  to  the  power  and 
purity  of  the  Gospel.  It  was  such  a  system 
ac  commended  itself  to  their  best  ideas  and 
instincts.  It  is  to-day  just  such  a  law  and 
rule  of  life  as  commends  itself,  in  its  purity 
and  kindness  and  sweetness  and  nobility, 
to  all  that  is  best  in  the  hearts  of  women 
everywhere.  It  promises  well  to  them- 
selves and  to  their  families  and  home  life, 
and  to  the  future  of  their  sons  and  their 
daughters. 

Wherever  the  Gospel  has  been  accepted 
it  has  proved  a  blessing  to  women.  It 
has  found  them  slaves  and  degraded  in 
nearly  every  land  under  the  sun.  It  haa 
changed  their  condition  from  that  of  the 
slaves  or  toys  of  men  into  that  of  honored 


Woman's  Work.  235 

and  beloved  equals.  It  has  changed  the 
ideas  that  exist  in  regard  to  women  in 
heathen  land,  as  that  they  have  no  souls, 
into  the  exalted  conceptions  that  charac- 
terize the  holy  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Women  in  all  Christian  lands  are  great 
debtors  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  they 
should  show  their  appreciation  of  what 
it  has  done  for  them  by  being  faithful  fol- 
lowers of  Christ. 

Woman's  work  is  to  be  done,  in  a  very 
large  and  important  sense,  in  the  home. 
Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  the  loving 
and  prayerful  influence  of  the  Christian 
woman  in  that  realm  where  she  reigns  as 
queen.  There  is  no  department  in  life 
where  she  is  so  greatly  needed.  The 
world  is  an  immeasurable  loser  when  the 
hom.e-life  is  interfered  with  by  women  be- 
ing taken  from  home  by  duties  or  attrac- 
tions in  any  other  realm  of  life.  The 
natural  and  divine  law  Is  that  man  shall 
make  the  living  and  that  woman  shall 
make  the  home.  The  breach  of  this  law 
works  disaster.  The  Christian  wife,  mother, 
sister  and  daughter  exerts  an  influence 
for  Christ  in  her  home,  if  she  will,  that 
the  Church  and  the  world  need,  and  with* 
out  which  society  is  in  most  deadly  and  im- 
minent peril. 


236         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

Woman's  work  in  the  church,  is  done  in 
attendance  on  church  services;  in  the  in- 
struction of  the  Sabbath-school;  in  the 
prayer  services  and  other  devotional  serv- 
ices of  the  church;  in  the  social  organiza- 
tions and  ministrations  whereby  the  life 
and  influence  of  the  church  are  advanced; 
and  in  the  immeasurably  useful  and  ag- 
gressive operations  of  the  temperance  and 
missionary  societies,  by  means  of  which 
Christian  women  of  to-day  are  accomplish- 
ing so  much  good  in  the  name  of  Christ. 
They  are  to  be  appreciated  and  commend- 
ed for  the  forceful,  patient  and  determined 
spirit  in  which  they  are  prosecuting  their 
work  in  these  great  departments  of  needed 
Christian   effort. 

In  comparatively  rocent  years  the  wom- 
en have  organized  their  missionary  socie- 
ties with  the  special  thought  of  giving  the 
Gospel  to  the  women  of  heathen  lands.  Of 
course,  the  whole  missionary  movement 
has  been  comparatively  mociern.  But  one 
great  difficulty  that  has  met  our  mission- 
aries in  many  eastern  lands  has  been  the 
inaccessibility  of  the  women.  In  many 
of  the  castes  of  India,  for  instance,  it  has 
been  found  impossible  for  male  mission- 
aries to  meet  the  women.  There  has  grown 
up  the  department  of  Christian  effort    in 


Woman's  Worlc.  237 

modern  times  in  which  women  mission- 
aries have  met  the  native  women  in  their 
homes,  and  in  which  native  Bible-reading 
v'omen  have  been  trained  to  go  to  other 
women  with  the  glad  message  of  the  Gos- 
pel. For  all  that  has  been  done  in  this 
direction  we  may  be  profoundly  grateful. 
The  Gospel  is  winning  its  way  in  heathen 
lands,  to  no  inconsMerable  degree,  by 
means  of  the  consecrated  efforts  of  Chris- 
tian women,  who  are  telling  their  sisters 
of  the  glad  message  of  life  and  love. 

It  is  well  for  the  women  of  Christian 
lands,  young  and  old,  to  take  an  increasing, 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  women  in 
heathen  lands.  Here  is  a  branch  of  Chris- 
tian work  to  which  they  may  give  th':)m- 
selves  without  hesitation.  They  may  raise 
money  to  send  the  Gospel  to  those  who  are 
perishing.  Many  of  them  may  go  as  teach- 
ers and  physicians  to  those  who  need  their 
living  touch  in  the  name  of  Christ.  Many 
c?  them  who  go  as  the  wives  of  preaching 
missionaries  will  find  abundant  opportuni- 
ties of  reachmg  and  helping  to  save  the 
wives  and  mothers,  the  listers  and  daugh- 
ters in  those  dark  lands  to  which  the-* 
CHrry  the  light  of  the  saving  love  and  truth 
of   Christ. 


WHAT   KIND   OF   A   CHURCH  ? 

We  have  seen  a  couplet  which  all  church 
members  are  exhorted  to  repeat  and  sing, 
to  dream  over  and  think  over  and  pray 
over.  They  are  in  the  form  of  a  question. 
We  do  not  know  who  wrote  them,  but  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  if  every  man  and 
woman  and  child  in  the  whole  country 
would  answer  them.     They  are: 

What  kind  of  a  church  would  our  church  be 
If  every  member  were  just  like  me? 

They  are  easily  learned.  They  are  easily 
remembered.  A  study  of  them  by  each 
member  of  each  church  would  be  equal  in 
effect  to  a  whole  week's  evangelistic  service 
in  every  church  of  the  land.  Suppose  we 
all  repeat  them  together,  once  more: 

What  kind  of  a  church  would  our  church  be 
If  every  member  were  just  like  me? 

How  about  church  attendance?  A  reg- 
ular, church-attending  congregation  has  a 
commanding  influence  in  the  community, 
grows  in  numbers  and  power,  prbfits  from 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  honors  God 
and  is  honored  by  him.  On  the  other  hand, 
(238) 


What  Kind  of  a  Church?         239 

in  a  church  where  there  is  irregular  and 
fctraggling  attendance,  there  is  little  prog- 
ress made  in  building  up  the  church,  or  in 
Laving  an  influence  for  good  in  the  com- 
munity; the  minister  becomes  discouraged 
because  his  work  is  not  appreciated,  and  his 
efforts  largely  go  for  nothing;  the  in- 
dividual members  gain  but  little,  and  re- 
ligion is  at  a  standstill.  How  about  it? 
Let  each  individual  ask  himself  whether  he 
is  a  model  in  respect  to  his  duty  at  the 
church  services,  the  Sabbath-school  and 
the  prayer-meeting.  If  he  is  faithful,  then 
he  is  doing  what  he  can  to  honor  God 
and  increase  the  attendance  at  the  sanc- 
tuary. If  he  is  irregular,  and  all  should 
follow  his  example,  there  would  be  little 
manifestation  of  life  in  the  house  of  God. 
How  about  the  financial  work?  In  every 
church  there  is  anxious  thought  and  con- 
triving on  the  part  of  the  officers  as  to  the 
financial  outcome  each  year.  There  are 
some  members  who  are  thoughtful  and 
faithful  in  their  financial  obligations,  but 
there  are  some  who  seem  to  have  no  sense 
of  responsibility.  Each  member  of  the 
church  knows,  or  should  know,  just  about 
what  is  needed  to  pay  the  annual  expenses 
of  the   congregation.     Whatever  any  one 


240         The  Foursqiiare   Christian. 

fails  to  do,  of  his  own  rightful  share,  must 
be  made  up  by  some  one  else,  or  the  church 
must  suffer  loss  and  shame.  Let  each 
member  determine  that  his  church  shall 
never  suffer  from  his  own  neglect,  but  that 
he  will  do  his  own  full  and  honest  duty 
financially. 

How  about  the  maintenance  of  family  re- 
ligion? A  church  has  as  much  spirituality 
as  its  homes.  If  parents  are  faithful  to 
instruct  their  children,  to  train  them  up 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord, 
to  keep  up  family  worship,  to  pray  for  and 
with  the  children,  and  to  take  them  to 
God's  house  and  to  set  before  them  a  godly 
example,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  about 
those  children  following  them  and  becom- 
ing faithful  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
if  these  things  are  neglected,  the  children 
will  be  scattered  as  the  children  of  Eli,  and 
the  house  of  the  ark  of  God  will  be  ne^ 
glected  and  deserted. 

How  about  a  consistent  Christian  life 
before  the  world?  There  are  always,  in 
every  church,  those  who  may  be  depended 
upon  to  maintain  the  cause  of  Christ.  They 
are  faithful  in  every  duty,  and  they  live 
consistently  and  faithfully  before  the  world 
as  Christians  should.     Others  bring  shame 


What  Kind  of  a  Church?  241 

upon  the  cause  of  Christ  by  lives  that  are 
not  in  accordance  with  their  profession, 
or  the  ordinary  laws  of  rectitude.  They  are 
a  grief  to  their  fellow  Christians.  Instead 
of  being:  avenues  of  approach  for  Christ 
into  the  hearts  of  those  around  them,  they 
are  barriers  to  keep  him  away  from  them, 
and  to  keep  them  unsaved.  Let  each  one 
ask  himself,  in  the  sight  of  God,  what  posi- 
tion he  is  taking  before  the  world. 

The  Church  is  divinely  instituted  for  the 
purpose  of  reaching  the  world.  It  is  toi  be 
sustained  by  our  personal  labors,  our  at- 
tendance, our  money,  our  prayers  and  the 
zealous  and  studied  efforts  of  our  lives  to 
do  God's  will.  Some  in  every  church  seem 
to  do  their  whole  duty.  Some  seem  to  have 
little  sense  of  responsibility.  It  would  be 
well  if  each  one  would  think  over  and  act 
upon  the  question: 

What  kind  of  a  church  would  our  church  be 
If  every  member  were  just  like  me? 


CALLS  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 

The  young  men  who  will  enter  the  the- 
ological seminaries  during  the  next  few 
years  to  make  special  preparation  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry  are  now,  for  the  most 
part,  in  the  co  J  leges,  academies  and  high 
schools  of  the  land.  A  few  exceptional 
cases  may  be  developed  outside  this  group 
of  young  men,  hut  it  Is  evident  that  our 
main  supply  must  come  from  those  who  are 
now  students  in  various  grades  of  prepara- 
tion in  these  institutions  just  mentioned. 

We  would  like  to  gain  the  attention  of 
these  young  men,  and  speak  to  them  a  few 
warm-hearted  words  as  to  the  attractions 
of  the  Gospel  ministry.  We  would  like 
to  open  up  the  way  for  God's  call  to  this 
important  and  delightful  work  to  reach 
the  heart  of  some  who  might  not  other- 
wise hear  or  heed  that  call.  For  God  is 
calling  the  choicest  and  best,  the  manliest 
and  noblest,  the  strongest  and  the  most 
excellent  to  take  up  this  supereminent 
work.  Those  who  understand  and  obey 
that  call  will  thereby  find  usefulness,  hap- 
(  242  ) 


CaUs  to  the  Ministry.  243 

piness  and  success  as  we  do  not  believe 
they  can  find  it  elsewhere. 

We  do  not  underrate  any  business  in 
which  good  men  serve  God  and  do  their 
duty,  but  we  do  place  the  ministry  for 
usefulness  and  satisfaction  at  the  very 
head  of  all  the  positions  in  which  men 
may  pass  their  days.  Ahead  of  all  material, 
commercial,  political,  intellectual  or  social 
interests  is  the  spiritual  work  of  advanc- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God,  and  he  who  is 
actually  and  personally  engaged  in  this 
work  directly  is  doing  the  very  highest  and 
most  important  thing  in  which  he  can  pos- 
sibly be  engaged. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  be  a 
Christian,  devoting  himself  to  God's  ser- 
vice, and,  as  a  steward,  realizing  that  all 
his  time,  property,  faculties  and  social  in- 
fluence are  to  be  held  and  used  only  as 
Christ  would  have  them  used  and  because 
they  all  belong  to  Christ.  If  we  settle 
this  matter  of  a  thoroughly  consecrated 
Christian  life,  we  will  be  prepared  to  set- 
tle all  the  particulars  of  it  as  Gorf  gives 
us  light  on  them.  It  is  because  so  many 
undertake  to  make  their  choices  in  life  In- 
dependently of  God's  guidance  that  they 
fail  so  deplorably. 


244         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

Every  Christiai]  young  man  should,  first 
of  all,  be  very  clear  in  his  own  mind  that 
he  is  not  called  into  the  ministry  before 
he  makes  choice  of  some  other  life-work. 
The  needs  of  the  church  for  good  ministers 
are  so  many  and  so  great  that  no  Christian 
young  man  should  be  indifferent  to  them. 
If  God  does  not  want  him  in  this  work,  of 
course  that  settlefs  it,  but  one  should  be 
very  careful  to  know  that  God  does  not 
want  him  before  he  turns  his  back  on  the 
work  of  the  ministry. 

Of  course  if  there  are  insuperable  ob- 
stacles in  the  way,  God  does  not  demand 
that  one  accomplish  impossibilities.  If  one 
has  no  health,  no  money,  no  friends,  no 
strength  of  mind,  no  power  of  speech,  or 
if  he  has  impediments  of  mind  or  body 
that  would  bar  his  way,  he  is  of  course  not 
called  to  this  work  in  which  large  qualifi- 
cations are  demanded  in  order  to  any  real 
success. 

Sometimes,  however,  one  is  deterred 
when  he  should  not  be  by  mere  fancied 
^acks.  Moses  held  back  and  said  he  could 
not  speak,  but  God  knew  best,  and  forced 
him  to  his  work.  It  proved  that  Moses 
never  had  any  real  difficulty  when  the  time 
came.    Many  a  young  man  thinks  that  he 


Calls  to  the  Ministry/.  245 

can  not  prepare  great  sermons,  and  hangs 
back  from  the  «rork  of  the  ministry,  but 
if  he  gives  himself  to  Christ  and  his  ser- 
vice he  will  be  able  to  preach  by  the  time 
he  gets  through  with  his  long  course  of 
preparation.  The  boy  can  not  cure  a  fever 
or  a  broken  limb,  but  by  the  time  he  be- 
comes a  physician  he  will  have  learned 
The  boy  can  not  conduct  a  case  in  court, 
but  he  can  by  the  time  he  is  through  with 
the  law  school  and  has  b'Dcome  an  attorney. 
It  is  not  well  to  cross  a  bridge  until  it  is 
reached.  If  God  calls  one  to  preach,  he  will 
be  able,  when  the  time  comes,  to  prepare 
the  sermon.     Never  let  him  fear. 

Nor  is  the  financial  question  one  to  cause 
dread.  It  costs  something,  of  course,  to 
take  the  educational  course  for  the  min- 
istry, but  how  much  it  shall  cost  depends 
largely  on  the  one  taking  it,  and  it  is  pos- 
sible to  almost  any  one  who  has  real  man- 
hood. Instead  of  thinking  it  impossible, 
let  a  young  man  consult  his  pastor  or  some 
other  intelligent  and  capable  friend  and  he 
will  be  surprised  to  find  how  difficulties 
may  be  made  to  vanish. 

Hundreds  of  young  men  are  hesitating 
In  regard  to  their  future  work  in  life.  We 
would    ask    them    to    consider,    very    ser- 


246         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

iousiy,  whether  they  are  not  called  into 
the  ministry.  There  is  no  work  like  this 
in  all  the  world,  for  the  opportunities  af- 
forded for  doing  good  and  for  the  abound- 
ing satisfaction  coming  to  those  who  do  it. 
If  we  had  the  ordering  of  it,  we  would 
select  hundreds  of  Christian  young  men 
who  are  going  into  various  forms  of  busi- 
ness life,  and  would  start  them  to  make 
special  preparation  for  the  ministry  right 
away.  But  we  have  no  such  ordering,  and 
we  might  make  many  mistakes.  But  the 
Lord  has  the  right  to  order  our  lives,  and 
we  fear  greatly  that  many  young  men  who 
are  being  called  by  him  into  the  ministry 
are  disregarding  his  call  and  disobeying 
the  heavenly  vision,  and  that  they  will 
reap  regret  in  coming  days  for  not  listen- 
ing and  being  willing  to  be  led. 

The  ministry  is  not  a  great  business,  if 
by  this  is  meant  an  opportunity  for 
amassing  great  worldly  wealth.  But  this 
is  a  petty  consideration.  A  minister,  who 
was  also  a  great  educator,  completing  fifty 
years  in  this  work,  said  he  was  thankful 
that  he  had  been  permitted  to  live  without 
having  been  agitated  by  the  pursuit  of  ma- 
terial wealth.  A  good  and  faithful  minis- 
ter will  always  be  provided  for.    He  will 


Calls  to  the  Ministry.  247 

have  influence  for  good,  he  will  be  the 
means  of  affecting  the  spiritual,  moral  and 
intellectual  life  of  the  community,  he  will 
have  social  position,  he  will  have  the  rev- 
erence, love  and  gratitude  of  the  people. 
These  things  are  above  price,  and  they  can 
not  be  purchased  by  money.  The  ministry 
is  better  than  a  great  business.  It  is  a 
great  calling,  and  he  is  thrice  blessed  to 
whom  God  comes  in  his  providence  and 
grace,  opening  up  the  way  before  him  for 
entrance  into  this  noble  and  distinguished 
service,  in  which  one  may  glorify  God  in 
seeking  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  fellow- 
men. 

The  ministry  needs  strong,  good,  wise, 
maniy  men.  There  is  room  for  them.  It 
is  possible  for  such  men  to  find  their  way 
into  the  work.  Those  who  are  really 
worthy  and  capable  men  will  find  satisfac- 
tion in  the  work,  and  delightful  compensa- 
tions such  as  ihey  never  had  previously 
imagined. 


CONCLUSION. 


"Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter;  Fear  God,  and  keep  his 
commandments,  for  this  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man." — Bcclesiastes  xii.  ij. 
*    «    * 

'^And  Jesus  answered  him:  The 
-first  of  all  the  commandments  is, 
Hear,  O  Israel;  The  Lord  our  God  is 
one  Lord;  And  thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soid,  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  with  all  thy  strength" — Mark 
xii.  2g,  30. 


PERSONAL  RELIGION. 

The  Christian  is  one  who  has  a  personal 
relation??hip  with  Christ.  He  loves,  trusts 
and  follows  Christ.  By  virtue  of  this  per- 
sonal relationship,  he  is  and  has  a  right 
to  be  known  as  a  Christian.  The  name  is 
definite,  not  miscellaneous:  and  it  is  based 
upon  a  definite  covenant-right,  and  a 
definite  relationship  with  Jesus  Christ. 

Religion  is  a  personal  matter.  It  is  not 
a  mere  system  of  ethics.  It  does  not. merely 
concern  itself  with  good  conduct.  There 
must  be  vastly  more  than  good  morals  in 
a  truly  Christian  life.  There  must  be  a 
disposition  to  take  God  into  the  account 
in  everything  that  enters  into  the  life.  All 
must  be  done  in  respect  to  him  and  his 
wish.  Mere  morality  or  correctness  of  life 
does  not  satisfy.  A  gentleman  said,  at  one 
time,  that  he  did  not  conceive  it  his  duty 
to  try  to  serve  God  personally,  nor  did  he 
believe  that  God  so  required,  but  that  if 
he  did  as  he  ought  in  his  own  life,  and 
in  reference  to  his  fellow-men,  nothing 
more  could  be  asked  or  required  of  h.lm. 
(17  )  (  249  ) 


250         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

This  gentleman  had  a  very  pleasant  home 
and  a  family  of  very  nice  children.  He  was 
asked  what  he  would  think  if  his  children 
should  leave  him  entirely  out  of  their  plans 
and  hearts,  and  should  conceive  that  their 
only  duty  at  home  was  to  treat  one  another 
with  affectionate  regard  and  to  live  and 
act  correctly,  but  with  no  recognition  of, 
affection  or  care  for  the  father.  He  saw 
that  such  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  the 
children  would  be  most  unnatural,  and  that 
no  home  is  properly  constituted  in  which 
the  parents  are  disregarded  and  filial  feel- 
ings uncultivated  by  the  children.  Even 
so  is  it  with  us  in  reference  to  God.  We 
must  not  think  that  morality  will  satisfy 
God,  while  in  our  hearts  there  is  no  regard 
for  him. 

Religion  is  a  personal  matter.  It  is  not 
a  laere  matter  of  ceremonial  worship.  It 
will  not  answer  for  one  to  attend  church, 
and  be  interested  in  its  services,  and  help 
financially  to  sustain  it,  and  cultivate  feel- 
ings of  admiration  for  the  appropriate 
music,  architecture  and  social  life  of  the 
church.  All  of  this  may  be  very  refining 
and  elevating,  but  something  more  is  neces- 
sary. The  soul  must  appreciate  God  as  the 
personal,  unseen  object  of  faith  and  adora- 


Personal  Religion.  251 

tion,  and  toward  him  the  spiritual  worship 
of  the  heart  must  arise.  It  is  possible  for 
one  to  be  a  mere  formalist,  as  it  is  possible 
for  him  to  be  a  mere  moralist.  He  may 
enjoy,  esthetically,  the  worship,  and  at  the 
same  time  may  not  worship  God.  But  if 
he  does  not  take  hold  of  God  in  holy  ador- 
ation, he  is  among  the  unblessed  ones  who 
draw  nigh  in  bodily  presence  and  with 
their  lips,  while  their  hearts  are  far  from 
him  and  their  lives  unsaved  by  his  grace. 

Religion  is  a  personal  matter,  of  love  and 
trust.  It  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  believing 
sound  doctrine.  One  may  be  a  very  zealot 
for  the  form  of  sound  words  in  doctrine, 
as  he  may  be  exact  in  architecture,  mathe- 
matics or  rhetoric,  and  yet  may  not  be 
spiritually  affected  and  saved.  One  must 
do  more  than  believe  the  truth  about  God. 
He  must  accept  and  trust  God  himself  as 
he  comes  to  him  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Without  this  one  gets  no  good 
from  the  truth,  whose  main  purpose  is  to 
make  God  known  to  us,  so  that  we  may 
know  him,  worship  him,  love  and  ser"^ 
him. 

We  sing  such  hymns  as,  "I  am  trusting 
thee.  Lord  Jesus,  trusting  only  thee,"  "I 
am  thine,  O  Lord,  I  have  heard  thy  voice," 


252         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

"1  belong  lo  Jesus,"  and  "Jesus,  lover  of  my 
soul,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee";  and  these 
are  the  true  expressions  of  the  faith  that 
abides  in  the  heart  of  the  true  child  of 
God.  Love  is  not  a  mere  abstraction.  It 
can  not  be.  It  exists  only  as  one  person 
loves  another.  It  is  found  in  its  highest 
form  as  one  loves  God.  Where  this  relig- 
ious love  is  lacking  out  of  the  heart,  the 
highest  and  holiest  element  of  life  is  want- 
ing. This  is  religion.  This  is  lif-e  eternal. 
This  is  knowing  the  only  true  God  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  he  has  sent. 


DO  WE  WISH  A  REVIVAL? 

From  all  directions  come  reports  of  sea- 
sons of  refreshing,  conversions  and  ingath- 
erings into  the  Church,  The  old  Gospel 
has  not  lost  its  power.  It  is  still  the 
means  which  God  employs  in  the  work  of 
saving  souls.  Human  beings  need  the  Gos- 
pel to-day  just  as  truly  as  they  did  a  cen- 
tury or  ten  centuries  ago.  They  are  no 
more  outgrowing  their  need  of  it  than  they 
are  outgrowing  their  need  for  water  and 
pure  air.  It  is  demanded  by  their  spiritual 
natures  as  air  and  water  and  light  are  de- 
manded by  their  bodies. 

This  age  is  not  essentially  different  from 
all  preceding  ages.  We  have  made  some 
inventions  and  discoveries,  and  we  know 
how  to  plow  and  sow  and  harvest  more 
rapidly  than  our  fathers  did,  and  how  to 
travel  faster  and  farther,  and  how  to  shoot 
longer  and  larger  guns,  and  how  to  make 
money  more  rapidly  by  means  of  trusts  and 
combines;  but  these  are  only  outside  mat- 
ters, as  changes  in  the  fashions  of  gar- 
ments are  external  affairs.  People  have 
(253) 


254         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

worn  clothes  in  other  ages,  and  they  have 
raised  grain  very  well,  and  have  traveled 
sufficiently,  and  have  made  war  all  too  well. 
In  all  essential  particulars  people  are  to- 
day just  what  they  always  have  been,  with 
the  same  human  needs  and  frailties.  Un- 
derneath the  coat  of  any  cut  or  color  is 
the  throbbing  physical  heart,  and  under  all 
the  changing  culture  of  all  the  ages  is  the 
universal  need  of  the  human  soul  for  the 
grace  and  salvation  of  Christ. 

To  have  a  longing  for  the  salvation  of 
others  is  one  of  the  marks  of  a  renewed 
soul.  The  one  who  has  no  such  desire  is 
not  a  child  of  God.  He  is  still  unawakened, 
unsaved,  a  member  of  the  kingdom  of  £;elf- 
ishness  and  sin  and  death.  Those  who 
have  had  an  experience  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  and  who  have  come  to  know  the  joy 
of  deliverance  and  hope,  and  who  know 
the  terrible  future  of  those  who  are  un- 
saved, are  anxious  that  others  may  also  be 
saved.  This  longing  is  impressed  on  their 
souls  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Each  converted 
soul  is  commissioned  to  bring  others  to 
Christ. 

When  the  sense  of  spiritual  things  is 
strong  and  clear  in  the  heart  of  Christians, 


Do  We  Wish  a  Revival f  255 

as  it  is  in  a  time  of  spiritual  quickening 
or  revival,  there  comes  an  unusually 
strong  desire  for  the  salvation  of  the  un- 
converted. Let  a  church  be  really  revived 
and  souls  will  be  sure  to  be  saved.  The 
tongues  of  Christians  will  be  unloosed  and 
they  will  speak  plainly  and  lovingly,  and 
invite  others  to  come  to  Christ.  It  comes 
to  be  easy  to  do  so  at  such  times. 

It  is  often  a  surprise  to  them  too  when 
they  find  that  men  and  women  are  ready  to 
respond  to  their  invitations,  and  that  it  is 
easy  to  them  to  yield  themselves  to  Christ. 
But  when  Christian  people  are  themselves 
aroused  they  find  that  many  persons  are 
just  ready  to  accept  the  Savior.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  doing  his  work  in  both  classes  of 
hearts,  and  when  a  church  is  ready  to  re- 
ceive others  in  the  name  of  Christ,  they 
will  find  them  coming. 

The  two  things  most  needed  in  any 
church  where  the  Bible  is  believed  and 
where  the  Gospel  is  preached  are  prayer 
and  invitation.  God  is  to  be  ca,lled  on  in 
prayer  for  his  blessing  on  human  hearts, 
and  those  around  us  are  to  be  invited  to 
come  to  God.  We  are  to  plead  with  God 
for  the  people,  and  with  the  people  for  God. 
Where  one  person  Js  earnestly  engaged  Im 


256         The  Foursquare   Christian. 

both  these,  a  revival  is  going  on;  when 
several  are  doing  it,  we  shall  find  always 
that  the  church  is  having  a  mighty  revival. 
If  we  long  for  a  revival,  we  may  have  it. 

God  is  ready  to  bless  and  glorify  his 
church.  He  gives  us  oft-repeated  assur- 
ances of  his  readiness  to  save.  His  prom- 
ises may  be  relied  on.  They  are  yea,  and 
in  Christ  Jesus  they  are  amen.  He  is  ready 
to  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour 
out  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
enough  to  receive.  Each  moment  is  the 
time  of  God's  loving  and  gracious  power. 
Let  our  prayer  be  to  him  and  our  de- 
pendence upon  him.  As  we  come  prayer- 
fully and  trustfully  to  him  in  loving, 
Christian  experience,  worship,  faith  and 
service,  he  in  his  grace  will  send  through 
us  to  others  the  mighty  outpourings  of  his 
power  to  save. 


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1    1012  01250  8240 


Date  Due 

M>/ 1 9  %^ 

. 

f. 

